Screencasting looks like it can be a good tool for providing simple to complex tech support for teachers. Students can also use it to create mini videos commenting on a picture in a foreign language or explaining a concept in a subject. Here are my notes from this morning’s session at Screencast Camp 2012 at TechSmith in Okemos

Screencasting 101
By Anton Bollen

Uses

Tech support
Education
Marketing
Teams- feedback, sharing across time zones and places

Who is the audience? What is the expected quality level expectations for the product? As quality increases- time required increases..

Two types of Screencasts
Basic- audio and video is recorded at same time, no post production, less professional looking, less flexibility for output formatting.Quick easy way to show a skill, providing tech support
Prof- video and audio recorded separately, editing necessary, scripted, huge time commitment, can add annotations/drawings
Tools for Screencasts

Basic Tools-
SnagIt, Jing (free download) use Jing to record foreign language report using a picture

More Advanced-
Camtasia
Screencast.com (can create a table of contents)

Tips:
Remove icons from desktop prior to recording screencasting, right click…
Short lengths work best 2-3 times,
Break them up into short sections, to make it easy for user to find what they need.
Two column chart for organization… One column indicates on screen action, paired with script
Prep ahead of time
Practice
Use a plain background, grey will make the application stand out
Bigger cursor makes it easier to follow
Possible create a screencasting account on your computer
Pay attention to size of viewers video, optimize what you need to show, advanced programs will allow you to zoom in.
Recommended dimensions 1280 x 720 (16×9 ratio) in SnagIt it will show the size. Good for YouTube videos.
Sizer …PC only
Audio matters, use a good quality microphone. Snowball microphone is pretty good quality around 100$
Watch your surroundings, background noises should be limited, for separate audio use Audacity

Applications and ideas for schools
Install Jing as part of image for teacher and student computers.
Use screencast for directions and tech support.
Need to create dummy classes to use for tech support