Embedded Files
Screen Recording
Screen Recording
Tosin Adeyanju, MD
One struggle educators often face is how to share asynchronous content in a manner that is engaging. Slide shows alone are often boring, and either have too much text to explain the content, or too little. Moreover, many concepts are better demonstrated with audio and/or video than words on a screen. At the same time, few of us have access to a full recording studio to launch our YouTube channels.
To solve this, enter with me the wonderful world of Screencasting! A screencast is a digital recording of a computer screen, usually containing some combination of audio narration, screen annotation, or video. Screencasts are the video form of screenshots, and can be used to share tutorials, training videos, lectures, demonstrations, and more.
Possible benefits/uses of screencasts include
Can use them to demonstrate procedures step by step
Asynchronous, allowing the viewer to consume the material at their own pace and re-visit as needed
Allows for dynamic demonstration of concepts. You can label parts of the nephron or highlight sections of the coagulation cascade while explaining them
Easier to get a lot of information across in a short time, especially when videos are limited in length
As with most newer technologies, the options for screencasting are myriad. This post is by no means an exhaustive review of the topic, but will mention a few popular apps that are free or inexpensive, and relatively easy to get started with. This guide from Edublogger discusses several ways to use video in teaching, and includes a great infographic comparing the options I discuss below.
Using your videoconferencing app
Using your videoconferencing app
Did you know you can record yourself presenting a slide deck using your favorite videoconferencing app? Any app that allows you to record and screen share (e.g. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WebEx, etc.) can be used to make a simple screencast. Simply start a videoconference by yourself, share your screen, and start recording.
If your app allows you can annotate your screen while you talk. The videos can then be downloaded to your computer and disseminated however you prefer. This is probably the easiest way to record a screencast, because it uses an app you're already familiar with. However, there is almost no ability to edit the videos, and if you make a mistake you have to go back and start again.
This free recorder allows you to create recordings of your screen with a Web-Based app. Videos can be published to their servers or YouTube, or saved in your Google Drive. The free version limits you to 15 minutes, which is often plenty of time, but there are premium options with longer time limits. You can watch this short video, or this longer one, to get you started.
A browser extension (only works with Google Chrome) that allows you to capture your desktop, browser tab, or webcam. It can be used offline once the extension is installed. Videos are limited to 5 minutes, which is a significant limitation for some. Videos can be uploaded to Google Drive or YouTube, or exported to your desktop. See this handy video tutorial to use it.
Similar to the other two, but has the bonus of a free Education account. With this you get access to premium features (sign up with your institutional email to get verified). You can make videos of up to 45 minutes, add links and files in editing, allow comments, etc. New EdTech Classroom has a great primer on using Loom here.
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