Screen Recording on your Chromebook

Hi all,

It's been a while since I posted, but I wanted you all to know about some websites that are awesome for creating videos and capturing you talking, or you talking over your screen.  Two really great products are available to you and easy to use, edit, and share.

Let's start with Screencastify.  Screencastify.com will allow you to record your screen, or part of your screen and also put your video face as an overlay.  This is great from providing voice-over to a presentation or document and connect with your audience.  The video will save into your Google Drive and be accessible anytime.  You'll be able to share the video, or download the video to upload other places.

Screencastify has a Chrome extension that allows you to access it with just one click.

Screencastify also has a pretty nice editor, so you can trim videos, to get them just right.  Editing can be done from the editor after you record.

You can share your videos to many locations.  You can place it directly in Google Classroom, or even download for later.

But, one of Screencastify.com's restrictions on the free version is that it restricts you to 5 minutes of video.  It is a nice product and easy to use, but 5 minutes means you have to record in parts, or find another product...

The other product you might want to explore is Loom.com.

Loom provides educators with unlimited recording.  Loom also provides a Chrome extension.  When you go to loom.com you need to create an account using your school email address.  Once you have an account built with Loom, you need to get an upgrade.  Go to this link and request an upgrade, and they are giving educators one for free.  Click on the blue button and get your account verified.

Loom videos are stored on their website in your account.  You can edit your videos on the website, or you can share with the link.  You can also download the video to use somewhere else.  The nice thing about Loom is that it allows you more than 5 minutes.  You can make them public or control by requiring the link.

So, as you start to think about teaching with video lessons, whether is is online teaching or blended opportunities, you might want to consider one of these two options.  Both of them are Google friendly and easy for teachers and students to use.

Flipped Classroom

This past year, I heard a lot about flipping a classroom.  We had some teachers in our school who were flipping their instruction.  It has become a fairly common practice from what I am seeing.  What is flipping?  Having the students receive instruction at home, via podcast or screencast, and then spending class time working, with teacher support, on problems and applications regarding the instruction.  At BLC11 this past week, I was lucky to see some of very good presentations that involved flipping instruction.  The presentations mentioned a couple of great points to why you would flip instruction as well as what you need to do to make that happen.

First off, I would like to thank the speakers that I saw - Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams (from Colorado) and Garth Holman and Mike Pennington (from Ohio).  These guys have worked together in their preparation of lessons to share with students.  I am finding that the effectiveness of this type of instruction can be greatly influenced by two people providing the instruction by asking questions and explaining the concepts.  Bergmann and Sams have a ning that they share some of their information - Flipped Class.  Holman and Pennington have just started using flipped instruction and are planning on doing more of it this year.  They have a website called TeachersForTomorrow.Net.  The feedback they received from students was outstanding.

There are many reasons why flipped instruction can be very successful.  First off, the students can work through applications and problems with the teacher in the room for support.  The teacher takes on more of a "coach" role, as the students work together to solve problems that would have been difficult to solve on their own at home.  Flipping also allows the students to view the instruction at their own pace.  They can pause videos, rewind to see again, and watch multiple times, if necessary.  And another good reason is that when a student is absent, their instruction is available at a later date.  These reasons make the idea of flipping the instruction quite helpful.

What do the teachers have to do to flip instruction?  Many teachers record their teaching with video.  They can record with their SmartBoards, or set up a video camera in their classroom and record their instruction.  Some use tablet computers to record their voice and writing, then create a video with editing software.  This process is called screencasting.  Others use webcams and create interview shows with other teachers, recording their explanations of concepts with their computers.  There are many ways to record your instruction so that it can be shared with your students.

My hope is that as more and more people will flip their instruction, then more and more lessons will get shared.  There are many awesome teachers that have excellent ways to teach concepts and that students could benefit greatly from being able to see those recordings.  Give flipping a try.  Record your instruction, let the kids see it ahead of time, and enjoy the time working with kids on new problems that they can solve and work through with you in the room with them.