Creating eTwinning Resources: Part 1

Screen-Casting with Explain a Website

I remember when I first discovered Camtasia a couple of years back. I remember thinking how wonderfully cool the tool was and what a great resource for teachers to create tutorials for students (this was back in 2006, 2007 I guess). Of course since then, and the rise of the "flipped classroom" teaching style, screen-casting as a resource gained a much larger following, with new and simpler tools being released across all platforms (including in the mobile-tablet genre).

Camtasia is, of course, expensive and in fact I had only availed myself of a trial version. Other software packages and apps surfaced, including on Interactive Whiteboards (most models have a built-in screen casting feature) and many "free" versions online. I use "free" sparingly here: most applications (not only screen-casting software) are indeed "free" but offer limited features; they usually have "business plans" available for more serious users....however the "basic" version is usually quite sufficient for us budding educators looking to create simple resources for our students. Andrew Douch has kindly reviewed the majority of screen casting software here, so I will not go into detail about the different options available - including most educators' favourite, Jing (easy to use and most importantly, free:  https://andrewdouch.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/the-best-screencasting-software-for-teachers/).

I used Jing for a while, which served its purpose quite well actually. I also toyed with the idea of buying a license for one of the less complicated screen-casting applications....until I purchased my first tablet in 2012 and realised what a wealth of applications offered the same features using a simpler yet still powerful interface at a fraction of the price.

I settled on a simple application called "Explain a Website" (which set me back at an alarmingly low price of €1.99) and another (free) application called Educreations. The first one, EAW, is incredibly simple to use: just enter a URL and start recording. I invested in a good set of headphones with in-built microphones and I started recording away. The results were pretty good if I say so myself. Of course the advantage of using a tablet for screen casting is that you can do all the subsequent editing with the proverbial swipe of a finger, including uploading on YouTube. In an hour or so I had recorded, edited and uploaded my first screencast: It was great! Here is a rather simple example I created:

Educreations, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish altogether: It allows you to actually "record" your lessons. I would guess it has quite a following in the "Flipped Classroom" teaching methodology as it effectively lets teachers pre-record their lessons and upload them, say, on iLearn VLE, for students to watch at home prior to actually following the lesson in class. Again most interactive whiteboard software do have a built in screen recording facilities, however Educreations is fun, free, and so easy to use, even students can have a go at it.

I intend to keep creating screen-casts for teachers and upload them on our own eTwinning Malta Educators' Group (see http://amandaworkinglife.blogspot.com.mt/2016/05/more-on-social-networking-and-etwinning.html), to provide teachers with a handy database of easy-to-follow tutorials which they can refer to when needed. And, who knows, maybe they will take a liking to the idea and start creating their own, in a true, "Flipped Classroom" model :-)