Tag: screenr

Google Apps Speeds Knowledge Sharing

One of the items which slowed posts this month is our school implementing Google Apps across most of our departments.  We provided each of our an account and the stories of actual changes are amazing, encouraging, and worthy.

A recent development trying to implement a new electronic grading system with no training left us unable to share information at our usual pace and with our usual tools.  Today we created a Google Site to share or use as a wiki and enhance fast knowledge sharing.  See the site @ http://sites.greshamhs.org/esis-tips-and-tricks/.  The change from a deliberative process or top down approach should be significant.  Key ideas included were to eliminate email folders and attachments and focus on easily produced screencasts such as this example using Screenr and posted on YouTube as well.

Screencasts and Twitter Inside My Classroom

Screencasting just got a whole lot easier and more powerful with Screenr.  I have to add a disclaimer here, I love, absolutely love the complete package Camtasia Studio from Tech-Smith and last year my class all used Jing for an assignment to publish on their blog.  But for quick one run through knock offs, from any machine, anywhere.  Screenr simply rocks!  Combine it with Twitter (or in my classroom Edmodo) as well as publishing on YouTube, providing an MP4, an embeddable link, this is simple.  It takes under 60 seconds to learn and use.

Pitfalls?  My students know this by heart.  It sounds great, and it works great, but not for quality work.  The ability to add captions, to edit, to clip, to record voice later, with better equipment, makes Camtasia much better for work that you are going to need some effort like training examples for class.

But this goes in my toolbox for sure.

How was my first pass?  Watch for yourself. And of course, I got the two commands backwards and no way to redo the voice, or zoom the video…and yet…it plays wonderfully on my iPhone 🙂