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| News You Can Use |
February 2009 | Issue 61 |
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| Letter from the Editor: SCORM Resources & FLV back in CS |
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We've been going back and forth a bit on the topic of SCORM and Camtasia Studio (see Nov 2008 article). I received some interest in the topic and wanted to address some reader questions and give you a few SCORM resources this month. The majority of questions I received asked about particular LMS' and their use of SCORM.
As far as I can tell all of the major LMS' do support SCORM. Blackboard/WebCT, Angel, Moodle, Sakai, and desire2learn all have info available on their websites, some of it is more detailed than others.
Moodle and Sakai both have some good information. Blackboard and Angel mostly just say what version they support but do contain information you may find helpful.
I also dug-up some non-LMS specific articles/sites:
How to make a SCORM-compliant video in Camtasia studio - This one is a little outdated but the process has really not changed in newer versions.
SCORM Watch - A blog dedicated to all things SCORM
Forum discussion on SCORM - A Camtasia Studio user discusses his use of SCORM.
Speaking of Camtasia Studio, some of you may have noticed that with version 6, the FLV format was removed. We realized we may have jumped the gun a bit in removing it and are putting it back.
We plan to release an update to Camtasia Studio as soon as possible that puts FLV back into the product. And you'll still have MPEG-4, too.
We'll announce when the FLV-enabled version is available, but if you want to be certain to hear about it as soon as it's released, send us an email and we'll contact you directly with the news.
Enjoy!
Katie Birmingham
Newsletter Editor
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Trent Robertson, Keyboarding & Computer Applications Teacher |
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Keyboarding and Computer Applications Teacher, Trent Robertson talked with me this month about his use of Jing and Snagit in conjunction with ThinkQuest as a classroom tool with his 4th and 5th graders.
What is ThinkQuest?
According to the Oracle website, ThinkQuest is "a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop 21st century skills". Students can create pages with text, pictures, multimedia, votes, brainstorms, debates, and messages.
A little background
Trent started using Snagit and Camtasia Studio about 10 years ago, (when Camtasia Studio was just called Camtasia) as an aid in creating training videos and documents for teachers in his district. "At the time, I almost strictly used Camtasia. Instead of 'how to' documents, I started creating and publishing 'how to' videos...it was my hope that teachers in the district would become more productive and efficient in their technology use with the aid of my videos," said Trent.
Enter Jing
Trent was in another teaching position in which he facilitated a variety of staff development training sessions. According to Trent, "Instead of producing a 'how to' document, participants in my session receive 'how to' videos in the format of an URL. Once again, my focus is providing teachers hands - on experience using different technology tools and resources.
"Jing also provides me a 'just in timing' training tool. For example, a first grade teacher e-mailed me asking how to create a short cut from a web browser to the desktop of her computer. Instead of replying to her message with written directions or creating a 'how to' document, I simply launched Jing, created a 'how to' video, and then sent her the URL. Since I have not yet heard back from her, I am making the assumption that the Jing video answered her questions."
Jing + Snagit + ThinkQuest = worldwide collaboration
Using ThinkQuest as a collaboration tool, Trent creates pages, assigns a topic, then can invite students and teachers to collaborate. For example, Trent recently "...used Snagit to take a screen capture of the railroad signs within Microsoft Excel. The screen capture was posted on my ThinkQuest page along with a question regarding the capture and the discussion starts."
"I also try to predict potential problems that students might run into, capture the problem with Snagit, and post to ThinkQuest. Then, Jing is used to provide 'how to' directions and ways to fix the problem or prevent it from happening," said Trent.
All discussions are teacher-mediated so this is a great forum which provides student accountability along with teacher-involvement. Jing and Snagit really add to the experience by providing visual how-to's for students.
As you can see, Trent has used Jing, Snagit and Camtasia Studio in various ways throughout the years. Tell me how you are using TechSmith products in your teaching.
**By the way, for all you K-12ers out there, ThinkQuest is free for you! It also provides professional development for teachers and is the largest online repository for student developed projects.
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We're up all night...for you! On February 17, we'll record 24 Camtasia Studio tutorials over the course of 24 hours.
The rotating cast of characters will include chief evangelist Betsy Weber, product manager Troy Stein, various developers, perhaps your trusty newsletter editors, and some surprise guests.
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We've left a few slots open in the content lineup, so please leave a comment on this blog post to tell us what topics you'd like us to cover in these tutorials.
These will be fun, lively videos (possibly goofy at times, given that it's an all-nighter) but will provide practical tips, stories, techniques, and background. You'll understand not just what and how but also some of the who and why.
And if you have nothing better to do, you can tune in any time between 8 a.m. EST on February 17 and 8 a.m. on February 18 for a live, "behind-the-scenes" look at the production and to chat with Betsy. We can't guarantee it will be riveting, but it will be real!
Click here to add a reminder to your calendar for February 17-18. We'll have all the details posted to the Visual Lounge blog by then.
And if you miss the live event, don't worry—we'll be posting the edited (5-15 minute) videos on the blog as each one is finished.
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Join us on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 11am PST and see how easy it is for your campus to deploy a lecture capture solution which will help increase student learning and satisfaction while improving educational effectiveness.
Garrett Brand, faculty member at Grand Rapids Community College and Blake Haggerty, the assistant director of instructional design at New Jersey Institute of Technology will explain first-hand how they:
- provided faculty with a lecture capture solution they actually want to use.
- found a solution that is easy to deploy...from integration to management.
- received feedback from both faculty and students.
...and did it all on a shoestring budget because of Camtasia Relay's ease-of-use and integration with existing hardware.
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| Survey: Will you help us turn up the delight factor? |
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We're not interested in building software that you simply tolerate...or even kinda like. We want to flat-out delight you with tools that help you be awesome at what you do.
Usability studies are one method for boosting the delight factor. By watching people use our software to do specific tasks we understand better what's causing joy and frustration.
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If you would like to participate in software usability studies for TechSmith, please complete this survey. By providing some background about yourself, you'll help our user experience team put together well-rounded studies.
The survey takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many TechSmith products you use. There's a survey for Mac users, too!
We recognize that your time is valuable, so if you're selected to participate in a study you'll receive some compensation.
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Rachel Clark, Information Developer
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It is impossible to anticipate a sneeze while recording but there are precautions you can take in order to cut down on editing time and make your video as high-quality as possible.
Check out this tutorial for tips on how you can clean up your recording area, setup your microphone, block out that humming noise your computer makes, and other best practices that will make recording a breeze.
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Distribute your pictures, videos and documents on Screencast.com using RSS feed or iTunes.
This tutorial gives you the low-down on what RSS and iTunes are and how you can use them to deliver your Screencast.com content to your audience.
The video contains information on RSS only but the full tutorial also talks about iTunes.
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RSS & Screencast.com video tutorial |
Not using Screencast.com yet? Give it a try. We have an account that gives you 2 GB of transfer bandwidth and 2 GB of storage for free! Sign up now.
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Camtasia Studio
Recording and Presentation
Buy Now
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Jing Pro
Share Recordings Faster
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SnagIt
Screen Capture and Sharing
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Screencast.com
Media Hosting
Buy Now |
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