Monday, March 24, 2014

Making a Flipped Digital Resource - Screencast-O-Matic

Making a Flipped Digital Resource 
Screencast-o-Matic

How would you like to make a video and upload it to a You Tube channel in less than 20 minutes?

I am going guide you through the video production using a chemistry lesson from a  SMART Notebook file, and software from Screen Cast–O-Matic to create, publish and upload a digital resource. 

The Screen Cast-O-Matic software combines a very basic recording platform, some simple editing features and options to save the movie to your own data files or upload directly to a You Tube channel. Screen Cast-O-Matic can be used with any SMART Notebook, PowerPoint or Key Note presentation.  The screen capture software allows for the control of the capture screen size, which makes it easy to work within smaller windows on a larger platform.

The software can be downloaded for free at
screencast-o-matic.com.The free version has a fifteen  minute recording limit.  The full version can be purchased for $12.99 and allows for longer recording time and additional editing tools.

This example is making a video about how to write electron configurations in chemistry. This lesson uses a pre-made SMART Notebook lesson.  I prefer to pre-make my lessons with animations of the steps fading in on mouse clicks.  I personally do not like the way I write with the mouse or using a wireless pad.  But, this is entirely up to you and what the objectives of your lessons are.

First I open the platform for my lesson.  In this case my SMARTnotebook software.

Next locate and activate Screencast-o-matic (SOM) from the dock on my desktop.





When the SOM software opens it asks if you would like to enable the pro features purchase or use the free version. The free version is fine for anything under fifteen minutes.
Remember to keep your videos short.


The SOM will open a frame with a control center on the bottom. This frame can be adjusted to capture as much of your desktop, SMART Notebook, PowerPoint or Key Note as you are going to use in the video.




The original frame size may not fit the portion of your screen that will be recorded.  The SOM software will prompt you to manipulate the frame to the size needed for your recording. 



Drag and re-size the frame to the appropriate size for your recording.  I capture only the workspace for the lesson.  I leave the tools outside the frame.  I still can use those tools without them being seen in the recording. 



The control panel for the SOM software is at the bottom of the recording frame.




The red circle is the record/pause control.  Make sure the mic and sound check is working during the recording.  There is nothing worse than getting the perfect take and your mic is not on.





You can set up an external camera if you would like to add your image to the recording.  The X on the right will close the recording window. 

When you begin recording the record button changes to a pause button. Use this to provide time to catch your breath, gather your thoughts, change slides, etc….

The recording time will also appear.  Be aware of the fifteen minute time frame as you record your video.







Once you begin recording, whatever you do on the software platform will be recorded.  Your voice, writing, typing, manipulating objects, changing slides, animations, slide transitions, will all be recorded by the SOM software.

 
 

At the end of the recording press DONE.

The SOM upload screen will appear.

You can preview your video at this point.





There are three options for upload.  Publish to Screencast-O-Matic,  publish to You Tube or publish to a video file.  Always publish to a video file.  This allows you to have a file available to use outside of SOM or Your Tube.      








When you publish to a video file you have the opportunity to add notes to the video or add captions and some other basic options.

Save at Full Size.  HD is nice for your computer, but HD affects download speeds and students may not have great bandwidth at home.

The MP4 option is recognized by most formats on the web.







After saving to a video file, you can then publish to SOM or You Tube.  Or you can upload the file to your learning management system of online platform. 


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