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Save Class Time - Screen Recording with Screencastify!

Storms the past two weeks have really impacted our schedule!  This blog post should interest you if you want to gain more time in class for important student learning!

Buy Back Class Time:

Do you have a process that indirectly impacts student learning but takes precious class time to show students?  (Installing an app, extension, or using a website specific to your class?)  Do you have a particularly difficult topic requiring extra support or explanation?   Consider recording your screen while modeling the process or explaining the topic using a Chrome extension called Screencastify!  (Note that QuickTime Player also has screen recording options.)

Once you have created your video, you can assign it as homework, saving class time you would have spent modeling the process or clarifying the difficult concept to your students.

Using my laptop, I made the screen recording below demonstrating how to add the Screencastify extension to Chrome.  Think of a similar task you do with your students that could be shown using video:



Cricket took this a little farther...using her classroom iMac, she recorded herself working through a difficult Chemistry problem using her Epson Projector and Pen*:

How does Screencastify work?

Click here to add this Chrome extension to your Chrome browser by clicking Add to Chrome.   (See the first video above for more detailed instructions).   Once installed, you now have an icon like the one below located on the top right side of your browser.

Click on the Screencastify icon.   You will see the menu below.  Click Record Desktop to begin your screen recording:


You will see a 3-2-1 countdown, and Screencastify will begin recording your screen and voice.  The icon will have a red circle in it, indicating you are recording.  Click the icon to find the following menu:

Click Stop when you are done with your video.   Screencastify will automatically save the video to your Google Drive or your YouTube account!  (If you don't have a YouTube account, create one using your @concordcarlisle.org Google credentials. Using YouTube has some great benefits.  More on that later!)

You have the following options with Screencastify lite.  Note the video can be up to 10 minutes long, but you have no option to edit!


How do I share it with students?

Google Drive

While in Google Drive, click on the video once and use the Sharing icon to change sharing settings to Anyone with a link can view.   Copy the link.   (If will take a short time for the video to be fully available.)

YouTube

Upload your video to your YouTube account.  Once uploaded, copy the link to the video.  YouTube provides some basic video editing tools like trimming so students don't have to watch you stop your recording!

Google Classroom  

Create an assignment, assign a date, and attach the link!

How can I be sure that students watch the video?

If you want to go further, EdPuzzle provides data on any video you assign.  Did the student even watch the video?  If so, how much?  To use EdPuzzle, do the following two things:
Navigate to the video link, and click the Edit with EdPuzzle button to add your video to your EdPuzzle account.

EdPuzzle has super easy cropping and editing tools! You can even insert questions into your video!  (All totally optional!)  
EdPuzzle is completely integrated with Google Classroom, so Assign the video in EdPuzzle and select class(es) from your pick list.  Students see the assignment in Google Classroom as normal!  

EdPuzzle provides you the following information:
  • who watched the video
  • how far they watched the video
  • how many times they watched the video
  • responses to questions if you inserted them by student and class!

Can students use Screencastify to 'Show What They Know'?

Of course!  While this is a great teaching tool, it is also a great tool for students to show what they know if their work is on their laptop!  For example, you could have students use Screencastify to narrate a slide deck and give a mini-presentation.  Any project works that includes a browser based document or website where you want students to record their thinking.  Assign them the first video on this blog post to add the extension!

I hope this post gave you some ideas for gaining more time for direct student learning in your classroom!

*Disclaimer - Cricket sent me this video because she was concerned about the loud noise the pen made!  Please overlook the pen noise!
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