Screencast-O-Matic
Screencasts are recordings of what is happening on the computer screen. Screencast-O-Matic is a free online recorder for creating screencasts. The first YouTube video in this post is a screencast I made using Screencast-O-Matic. I would show this in class as a demo of what I want students to do for the lesson and then would show the second video by Gary North which is a quick tutorial for creating a screencast with Screencast-O-Matic. I could also walk them through the process of using Screencast-O-Matic in class.
This screencast is a demo of experimenting with different Photoshop filters on a photograph. The students would then be assigned to experiment with different Photoshop filters and then to choose an example that they like and create a screencast of what they did. The screencasts would then be put on a class blog for the students to view with the assignment of picking one they like and recreating the process on a photograph of their own. It would be a good way of familiarizing students with using Photoshop filters and for them to share their processes and ideas with each other.
Screencast-O-Matic is easy to use but I find that I record a few times to make one - I don't just automatically get it right the first time. You can stop the recording though and then continue adding on to the same recording and you have instant reviewing of your recording. I think it's a cool tool for creating tutorials and demos of what can be done on the computer for your class. As far as students using it to share what they did with the class - I think if they had a similar process as me - needing to re-record a few times - that would actually create practice for them in doing what they are doing "on-screen" a few times. The first lesson done this way with students creating screencasts of their processes could include a review of both their work with using Photoshop and also on their Screencast-O-Matic "performance," such as how smooth it was, if what they did on-screen was easy to recreate, if their speaking was clear and understandable, etc.. I think students would find it fun to occasionally create screencasts of their computer work and share with the class as another form of presenting. Also the students could view the screencasts at home as homework, saving time in class.
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Yep, commenting on my own work. I just think this screencast is a little long. I even tried it a few times to get the example I posted. It's about practice. For a real instructional I would abbreviate this, give two examples, have one be very direct, and the other more about experimenting. The point would be to get students using the Photoshop filters and experimenting with them. And as I said in class I think it would be a good idea to show professional examples of where the filters are used - such as in comic books - there's a lot of Photoshop work done in comic book creation in general, such as to get the glowing effects, highlights, and coloring.
ReplyDeleteYou gave an excellent description of both the lesson and the tool. Great job. I liked that you included not only your screencast but also a screencast on how to use the tool. Very handy! Thanks for such an insightful post (and comment as well!).
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