Screencasting: From My Screen to Yours

Flashback with me to the days of yore when recording something meant waiting until the radio or TV station played your favorite song or program.

You quickly hit record hoping you hit the button at the right time to get all of the song but none of the D.J.'s obnoxious talking or the TV commercials. Annoying right? We've come a looooooonnnnnng way since then. Now we can set up recordings of our favorite shows that will record the show even if the time or air date changes, but what about our computers? How can we record what we are doing on our computers? The answer is simple, we screencast. Screencasting is when you use recording tools to capture what you are doing on your computer. 

One website you can use is Screencast-o-Matic. This site has a free and Pro version that cost $15 a year. With the free version, you can record for up to 15 minutes each video, but you can only upload one video at a time. If you want to record a new video, you have to replace your old one. The Pro version does not have these limits. If you are having issues with the website, you can download the software to your computer. Either way, all you need to do is push the record button to create a video of what you are doing on your computer. Check out this screencast of a presentation I created on library advocacy.


After you are finished recording, you can upload the video to Screencast-o-Matic or YouTube. If you have a YouTube account, you will need to add your account to Screencast-o-Matic. It is really easy, and takes very little time to do. Both options will give you a code to embed the video, so if you do not have a YouTube account you can still embed videos recorded to your website. This website is great for longer videos since you can record up to 15 minutes.

The next site you can use is Screenr. I had quite a bit of trouble getting Screenr to work because it requires the most up-to-date Java, and the most up-to-date Java is not compatible with Chrome (my preferred browser).  Fortunately FireFox supports the newest Java, but I was still having trouble getting Screenr to work. I would click on record and get a message saying my browser was blocking the cite because it had an invalid or expired certificate. Long story short, you have to go into your Java control panel and add an exception to the security level. I'll screencast how to do this on a Mac.

Just like with Screencast-O-Matic, it is really easy to use once you add the exception. You can upload videos to YouTube, or you can upload them to Screenr. This site would be better for short instructional videos, short presentations, or announcements.

Why would you want to screencast? Easy! How many times do students or teachers ask you how to do something on the computer? Or how many times do you wish you could record a presentation you gave so you could post in on your website? On the flip side, have you every wished you could share your students oral presentations, but your video equipment isn't all that great, or your you do not have enough time in the unit for them to present to the class? Screencasting would rectify these situations. What you screencast is really only limited to your imagination. The sites are easy enough for students to use, and they can use them on any computer as long as Java (a free download) is up-to-date. I prefer Screencast-O-Matic because it was really easy to use, and I didn't have any issues with it like I did with Screenr. I also like Screencast-O-Matic better because I can create longer videos with it.

If you know of any other sites for screencasting, let me know in the comments!

Happy Screencasting,

Brittany