Jing Screencast

So today I had to create a video without using a video camera. The way to create such a video is to use a screen shot program such as Jing to capture and create a tutorial or instructional video to share with others. Instead of recording the person or event with a video camera, I used Jing to record the steps I took on my computer to explain a process by capturing steps and images used to complete a task. My “how to” screencast was a narrative about how to use the word cloud application called Wordle www.wordle.net. Click here to view my screencast: Screencast video

In order to create a screencast video about Wordle, I had to start by capturing a screen and then sizing the capture so that my video would fit into the screen. This was not an easy task. It took about three times to finally figure out how to adjust the size of the screens to be used in the video.  Minimizing the windows that I was using within the video helped to keep the screens viewable inside the captured dimensions.

After I created my screen cast video, I was able to save it on my computer’s hard drive. There are two ways to save the capture. It can be saved directly onto the computer’s hard drive as I did, or it can be automatically saved into Jing’s history files. So even if a person loses the file on the computer, Jing will have the file stored as a backup. My file is saved under the C drive of my computer and the extension is C:\Users\Amyh\Amy\Capture.

In order to find the file, I go to the start menu, click on computer, click on My Documents and then follow the path through the Amyh folder to open the file Capture.

To share my screen cast via the internet, I followed these simple steps.

1. Create the screen cast video using Jing
2. Save the video and change the title name to something related to the topic
3. Click on the history prong under the Jing yellow sun
4. Click on the saved file once and then click the eye to view the file
5. When the file opens, go to the bottom left hand corner and click on the three-arrow icon to share
6. The file will be uploaded to screencast and a Google Chrome window will appear with the file shown in the middle
7. Copy the URL in the top left hand corner and paste it where you would want to share the link

The Jing screencast movie is a SWL or Shockwave Flash file. If I were to get the premium version of Jing, then the files would be available in MPEG form.
Jing is very user friendly. The Jing icon looks like a yellow sun that sits at the top of your desktop just waiting for you to scroll over it to start capturing images. There are three prongs on the bottom on the yellow sun and they each have a function. The first prong is what you would click on if you were ready to capture an image. The second prong shows the history of the user in capturing images or videos. The final prong titled “more” gives the user access to settings and help with using Jing. Overall this program is easy to use and quick to learn.

I can see how this program would be useful for a teacher. It is easy to put together a quick tutorial video of what the teacher wants the students to focus on in a lesson. It would even be useful if a teacher is out on leave and a substitute could use screencast videos and images created by the teacher to teach the class. This activity falls under the ISTE.NETS.T standard number three, Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. The reason this activity coincides with this standard is because Jing video can be used by the teacher to demonstrate how instructional videos can be created in order to convey information about a particular subject. Teachers can use this digital way of teaching to promote useful computer skills and also ways to develop directional skills.