In the past, I have had to resort to lots of written reference sheets and reteaching lessons for students who need to get caught up. With these screencasts, it will be more effective for students as opposed to simple written directions (which some kids have much difficulty with). I can also see this being VERY useful for tutors who come into my classroom with very little computer knowledge and are very nervous about helping their own students. They will certainly benefit from these videos, as will some interested parents who want to help their child (or themselves) at home.
I can't wait to start making these screencasts this year (perfect timing now that we have switched to Windows 7). Finding the time might be tough, but I can just keep adding and adding new screencasts for new skills as I find the time. I wonder if there is a limit on Screenr.com to how many I can create. I will have to look into that. Otherwise, I am very excited about the possibilities for this in my class.
I found this extremely easy to use. I had to do two takes before I got it right without pausing too long or misspeaking, but overall, I loved it. Doing these before a presenting a new classroom skill could even help me revise and improve my instruction. It helps to be the "viewer" and not the "presenter" to critique my technical instructions.
Thanks for the great tool.
For this post, I created a screencast on how to post to our new classroom blog hosted by Kidblog.org. I notice, when I view it full screen on my blog, it is very blurry. But I would use this through my bookmark on mydelicious, which shows up fabulous through the link rather than a downloaded & embedded video.
