A screencast is a recording of a computer’s on-screen activity, which has an instructional audio track. Camtasia is a great screencasting application with an easy to learn interface. The application allows the importing of video clips, PowerPoint slides saved as images as well as recording the interaction of the mouse on the screen. Camtasia has many transitions, animations settings and controls to adjust the audio and a clips appearance.
I enjoyed playing with the animation and transition options both in PowerPoint and Camtasia. One thing I found challenging was exporting the intro animation I created in PowerPoint as a movie. When I choose the “Save as movie” option the animation did not play in QuickTime and Camtasia did not recognize the file format. I was able to use Camtasia to record the animation as it played on the screen in PowerPoint and then saved it as an mp4. I then imported that mp4 into iMovie to add some graphics and exported it again as a mov file. I finally imported the mov file into Camtasia and added a few more animations to the clip.
I’ve used Final Cut and iMovie in the past but Camtasia’s screen capture ability makes this application beneficial in the training and educational environments. Animation keeps the learners engaged and studies have shown that videos have the potential to enhance learners’ retention and motivation to learn. The visual demonstration allows the learners to follow along and understand the material better. The learners can also complete the task alongside the video, stopping, pausing and rewinding as they go along.
Illustration created with royalty free clipart from clker.com and a screen grab of Camtasia's interface.
I enjoyed playing with the animation and transition options both in PowerPoint and Camtasia. One thing I found challenging was exporting the intro animation I created in PowerPoint as a movie. When I choose the “Save as movie” option the animation did not play in QuickTime and Camtasia did not recognize the file format. I was able to use Camtasia to record the animation as it played on the screen in PowerPoint and then saved it as an mp4. I then imported that mp4 into iMovie to add some graphics and exported it again as a mov file. I finally imported the mov file into Camtasia and added a few more animations to the clip.
I’ve used Final Cut and iMovie in the past but Camtasia’s screen capture ability makes this application beneficial in the training and educational environments. Animation keeps the learners engaged and studies have shown that videos have the potential to enhance learners’ retention and motivation to learn. The visual demonstration allows the learners to follow along and understand the material better. The learners can also complete the task alongside the video, stopping, pausing and rewinding as they go along.
Illustration created with royalty free clipart from clker.com and a screen grab of Camtasia's interface.