'But...I just don’t get it!'...3 Ways Screencasting Can Transform Your Classroom

"'But...I just don’t get it!"

How many times have you heard these words? If you are like me, you probably hear them at least once, if not multiple times a day. What if you could show students a video that they could refer to anytime they were confused? Sounds great, right? Don’t worry, you do not even have to mess with YouTube. You can create them yourself!

Screencasting is a wonderful tool for training students and teachers on new things, as well as having students teach things they have learned to others. I use two different apps/programs, both by TechSmith, to screenshot/screencast in my classroom.

The first is called Snagit and it is free in your Google Chrome Web Store as an app and extension. The other is called Jing and it works great, even when you are not online.

If you have a video that is under 5 minutes, I suggest you use Jing. However, if you need to record a video that is over five minutes, Snagit may be a better option for you. Either way, these programs make it SUPER easy to screencast!

One awesome way to use screencasting would be to walk your students through a difficult lesson. This way, they have your explanation available anytime, day or night, to reference back to. You can assist them with where to go for help, which notes to use, and explain a sample problem and/or question with them while they watch.

Assessments are another great way to use this tool. Students get so tired of the boring pen-to-paper testing, and even Google Forms can get old. By letting students create a screencast, they can show you (as well as others) what they have learned about a specific topic. You can assess mastery easily by identifying what they have learned on the topic, as well as have them show different examples. What a fun way to assess knowledge!

If you are not interested in using this as a summative assessment, it could also be used throughout the unit as a formative assessment. This works well to post on the class wall, because it now allows all students to have multiple study guides. Screencasting in a unit can be an awesome resource, since each student may learn the material differently. 

Last, you can walk students through a website or WebQuest that you may assign to them. By doing this, the students know exactly where to go, what to click, and what you expect of them. This way they have no excuses! (Let’s not forget how great this would help parents, too!) 

These are only three of the many ways screencasting can improve your classroom. Check out this Edutopia article as well as this screencasting article from the University of Michigan for even more great ideas!

How will you choose to use screencasting in your classroom? Imagine never hearing, “I just don’t get it!” again!