Screencasts

One of the biggest complaints my students had when our campus decided to utilize a "blended learning" approach, where roughly half of instruction occurred face-to-face and the other half online, was that they hated watching videos made by other educators. Often with a lack of time or resources, teachers turned to YouTube or other video sharing services to find a pre-made video over a topic that they planned on teaching, instead of creating one of their own. The issue with this, as students reported, was that while the videos did have some relevance and important information, they often had serious flaws. Sometimes they used slightly different terminology than we used in class. Sometimes the teacher went about explaining something in the video that did not related to the learning that was happening in our classroom. And sometimes, students admitted, they just didn't like the sound of this stranger's voice as much as their teacher's. In any case, I vowed once I became more comfortable creating videos of my own, all videos I used for instruction would use my own face and voice, but I thought that time would happen much later on down the road. 

And then COVID-19 swept through the nation, closing down schools indefinitely just after Spring Break, and forcing teachers to create weeks worth of lessons and assignments for distance learning on the fly. Suddenly, utilizing another person's video wasn't as simple or effective as it once was. The school closures had finally created the circumstance that I had so reluctantly delayed for so long - it was finally time to create my own videos. Nervous and timid at the start, my first videos mostly utilized sharing my screen as opposed to my face, but with some practice and persistence, I was finally comfortable enough to create videos of me in my home attempting to teach students remotely. Our district purchased (or was given) accounts for all teachers on Screencastify, one of many screencasting services that became one of many lifelines utilized by educators around the country seemingly overnight. Not knowing much about these programs or the differences their competitors shared, I was excited to be able to use this assignment as an opportunity to explore other screencasting services. 

Screencastify

It took some getting used to, but after several practice attempts, I found Screencastify to be very user-friendly, and pretty simple to use. Working from a Chromebook for most of distance learning, Screencastify worked really well within Chrome, and the extension made recording and sharing my screen really simple. With the paid subscription through my school account, I was able to record videos up to 20 minutes (it could have been longer, but that was the longest video I ended up making) giving instructions or providing updates about school closures for students. I created a podcast to share information with students during this time as well, but I did not seem to grab the majority of my students' attention using this medium. Screencastify allowed me to record videos and upload them to a YouTube channel, a format that my students were much more comfortable with. I recorded videos for my entire class, as well as videos for individual students who were struggling with assignments. At times, it was easier for me to record myself explaining something rather than typing out step-by-step instructions. Interestingly enough, I also recorded some videos to help teachers on my team using this same method. The video below is one of me explaining some updates our district put out throughout distance learning and some additional information for students: 

 

The picture-in-picture feature of Screencastify allowed me to show both my screen and my face, something which many students seemed to appreciate during the time we were apart. In addition to the other features mentioned, Screencastify allowed some brief editing and cutting of the videos, which came in handy when I misspoke or one of my cats rudely interrupted a lesson. I very much hope my district continues our subscription to Screencastify or another screencasting platform next year, especially with the uncertainty around schools opening currently. 

Screencast-o-Matic

Screencast-o-Matic is another service that I had heard of before, but I had never experimented with before now. With many of the same features as Screencastify, Screencast-o-Matic, especially its free version, seems like an obvious alternative in the event that our district does not renew our subscription next year. The free version allows for 15-minute recordings, much longer than most other free versions I have seen, as well as the option to capture the screen, record using the video camera, and an option to use both simultaneously. After recording a video, you are given the option to edit it, similar to Screencastify. Once you are satisfied with your video, you are given options on what to do with it: download the video file, upload to the Screencast-o-Matic site where storage is available, or upload the video directly to YouTube. With the large file size for video recordings, later two options are really great for someone who is tasked with creating more than one or two recordings, as they do not eat up space on your personal computer. Here is a short, simple video I made showing students how to join Google Classroom: 

In addition to all of the options the free version offers, the deluxe and premier accounts (modestly priced at $1.65/month and $4.00/month respectively) have several features worthy of a paid subscription. Some of these features include the ability to draw while recording, video editing options, and ways to share and collaborate with others.

Conclusion

Despite having used Screencastify almost exclusively until now, I believe Screencast-o-Matic to be the superior product, especially in regards to the paid subscriptions. All free versions of these screencasting services seem to offer about the same in terms of features - roughly 15 minutes of recording time, limited amount of videos that can be saved, some editing options - and will work for the vast majority of educators. But if schools are forced to happen all or partially online come fall, the paid versions might be a necessity, especially with the sheer amount of videos that are likely to be recorded and published for students. After working with these products and listening to the opinions of my students, there's simply no way that I will ever go back to pulling a random video from YouTube in an attempt to teach my students a topic. Between instruction, clarification of assignments, individual feedback, and simply a way to stay connected, these screencasting services have become a crucial way for teachers to effectively reach students whether they are in the same room or not.