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Screencasts

The digital world is taking over businesses, entertainment, and education. Guiding people through a series of steps online just got easier with screencasts. With its booming popularity and effectiveness, it can be difficult to choose from various softwares. I recently tried Screencast-O-Matic and Screencastify. Although they both got the job done, one was more simple to navigate through, and another offered more features. Both have its advantages and disadvantages. I will give you a run-down on both screencasts down below.

https://screencast-o-matic.com/:

Screencast-O-Meter is super simple to navigate through. It gives you the option to create a free account or sign in through gmail. There is a Free Plan, Solo Deluxe ($1.65/month), or Solo Premier ($4.00/month). They allow for a free 30-day trial for video editting. You have to launch a screen video recorder. For the free plan, it only gives you the option to record the computer screen with narration. It will not record through your webcam. I chose this one as my favorite. Although it doesn't have extensive editting features, it's super simple to record and save videos without any special gimmicks. I recorded a video guide for my students to access the school's library database and catalog down below.




https://www.screencastify.com/:

I recently heard of Screencastify from my school's administration. Since we are now teaching through Google Classroom, we got a free subscription for a few months to use as a resource for our online learning. Screencastify requires a paid membership of $49/per year. Most school districts pay a bundle deal for all teachers at the beginning of the school year. First you have to download a software that automatically adds to your tool bar online. It offers many editting tools and different recording options for only one tab or multiple tabs. Screencastify also records screen and narration, with the option of webcam recording as well. It has more extensive features which is very nice. I recorded a video for teachers, presenting classroomscreen.com and its awesome features.


Since our school district will now be teaching through Google Classroom for the remainder of the school year, I'm excited to begin using screencasts as a teaching tool!

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