(Credit for the featured image goes to Dai KE on Unsplash)
In my Technology class this week, I made my very first screencast video (look at me go!). It’s a little demonstration of how to access digital books through the platform “Epic.” Learning this technology was a little time consuming (to say the least) but now that I’ve done it once, I think I could do it much quicker the second time. Is there a place for screencasting in a classroom or is it just one more thing to add to the teacher’s long list of “to-do’s”?
I can clearly see some benefits for older students. Now that I understand the process, it could be a quick way to give instructions to students who were away for the day. It could, also, be beneficial year after year when teaching the same basic steps to more than one class. For example, if I taught Science 7, I might post the students homework on “the portal.” Rather than explaining the same steps of how to access the homework, to every class, every year, I could simply do a screencast that they all watch. In these types of situations, screencasting would absolutely reduce a teachers work load.
However, learning technology can be slow and time consuming. On top of that, it’s impersonal. Part of the reason I like teaching is because I like people; I want to be involved with my students, walking them through, step-by-step. I don’t want to be a voice on a screen.
Basically, screencasting is like all other technology, there can be a time and a place for it, but it can never replace face-to-face teaching.
If you’re interested in watching my screencast, here it is. Just remember to go easy on me, it was my first time!