I decided to write about screen captures since we just completed an assignment on them.
I found an article comparing two different programs for creating screen captures, Camtasia and Captivate.
http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=9393&page=1
Camtasia is great because you can create movies formatted as MP3s, iPod movies, Flash, WMV, and others. Apparently Captivate is a bit easier to use but only produces Flash products. Captivate has other plusses, however, like facilitating the process of creating a quiz.
I really liked working with Camtasia. I thought it was pretty easy to learn to use. The tutorials offered on their site (which would also pop up if you clicked "Show me" or "Help" while working within the program!) were super helpful. I don't think I could have completed the assignment without those!
I could certainly use this program to create tutorials for things like Geometer's Sketchpad and WebQuests. Or perhaps students could learn to use it and create videos relating to mathematical topics. The movie was relatively easy to make, once I figured out the program, and kids are super quick at learning new softwares.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I also enjoyed this assignment. I must qualify, however, as I am not completely finished (at 5:41 pm on Sunday!). I have my movie completed, but when I try to produce it, the pop-up is so large that I cannot get to the buttons to proceed and can find no way to minimize. Other than that, I enjoyed this activity and can see many uses for it, especially when preparing information and deliveries for teacher in-services.
I definitely agree, I've always liked Dr. Ferdig's hands on assignments, and this was no exception. Not only are video/screen captures great for showing students how to do something, it's great to use to train your coworkers! Camtasia was super easy to use (I'm never the one to read tutorials unless I have to haha).
I did my video capture on Kidspiration. I've been meaning to show my students how to use it. I usually do it live on our LCD projector, but this will save me time if they want it repeated. I may just use my video capture this Tuesday, as we have the wireless lab coming to our classroom.
I too liked the Camtasia. Currently I, and my school are a bit behind on the necessary computer requirements. Next year we should get new computers which will make the Cam4 use nice. This program is on order for a few copies to have a small number of us develop uses and evaluate. It could be school wide the following year. Just another nice tool I've been introduced to here! Even though I had serious issues and didn't really get a good product, it's not because the program was poor. End user issues...
Post a Comment