After working this week with a new tool that I had never encountered, I had to talk about it. It was so interesting to prepare what was an assignment and presentation, but realize in the end how much I was enjoying myself. As with most assignments I have encountered this semester of my graduate program, I come away with learning something. This concept is quite amazing because I consider myself to be lucky. I am fortunate to be exposed to great tools and programs that I have never seen. While being required to produce presentations and assignments I am learning about products I can continue to use throughout my teaching career.
That being said, this week I explored Screencast-O-Matic. [www.screencastomatic.com] I used this program to create a very simple "how to" instructional clip. The website is free, incredibly easy to use, and has endless possibilities. Once you sign in a large box will appear and the program will be running in the background of your computer. I liked that I was able to continue going through my email and clicking back and forth to different windows while still having the program open. When I was finally ready to record my video I simply pressed Option + P to start and to pause. At that point if I decided to pause and look through a different resource I could continue to do so without disrupting my video in progress. I have attached my video here for viewing to show the end product. I cannot say enough about the easiness of using this program and how wonderful the end product came out to be. The video is a simple and quick instruction of how to upload photos to the iMovie program. Hope you enjoy.
In regards to this program's usefulness in relation to what I am learning in my class, this tool would be very appropriate! In Clark, Nguyen, and Sweller's "Efficiency In Learning" the importance of developing programs that are not loaded with an excessive amount of complex material. The learners need to have directions presented to them in a clear, concise manner in order to balance their mental load. I believe this program offers a way to reduce extraneous cognitive load through the use of visual and auditory presentation. (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006) According to their research, the use of audio to explain is more efficient than when text is used. Additionally, visuals benefit from an audio explanation because the cognitive load is reduced. The learner does not have to look at the diagram or animation while at the same time reading text. The learner is able to listen while the description is being given. This screen capture tool has endless possibilities as I said, but a few examples of its use that come to mind are, explanation of using a website, describing an animation of a topic specific to a course, or detailed description of how to use a computer program required for a class project.
I believe this program is worth exploring and has benefits true to what I am learning in my coursework this semester. This program can be used with any computer document, online website or tool that comes on the computer. I would even say that students are able to use this program with little guidance. I am already planning when I can use it in my classroom this school year.
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