Tech-Tac-Toe #3 - Screencast

I was excited to learn how to make a screencast as a former tech person in our district encouraged me to create them to help kindergarteners be less reliant on teacher instructions. She used them incredibly effectively to show students how to make something once via the screencast and then they were set free. If they had a question, they were to re-watch the screencast for the answer. It gave them a lot of independence and saved her headaches of having to repeat and hear her name called innumerable times!
I dipped my toe in and found the process to be relatively easy. I used Screencast-o-Matic as my software.

One of the hardest parts was getting my computer to have the correct downloads (Java). The good news was that Screencast-o-matic helped ease the process with links that guided me to download what I needed.
I used Blabberize as the tech tool I wanted my students to learn.

Here is my finished product which talked the students through the process of making a Blabber.



Once you are in Screencast-o-matic, you click "Start Recording" to get started. A 'screen' will appear with a black and white border that you can drag and size appropriately for your screen by using the handlebars in each corner. You will see a large record box and toolbar at the bottom of your screen. It is automatically set to record your work on the screen, but can be set to record webcam or both screen and webcam. Next, select the size. From different videos I watched, it seems 720p was the best bet for recording and downloading/embedding.
Also in the toolbar you will need to select the type of narration you want. I chose the built-in microphone to record my voice, which is how I think I would typically screen casting. You can select the volume to 'auto adjust' for foolproof recording, if that option comes up.
Once all of these have been set, you are ready to record. The red button in the toolbar gets you started. After clicking it, there will be a three second countdown and then the timer will start. You have up to 15 minutes per free screencast. If you need longer, you can record separate screencasts to break the directions into parts or purchase the upgraded version.
As you record, you can click through the options on the screen of whatever you are teaching. A yellow circle will appear wherever you move your mouse to help focus the students' attention. You can pause your recoding, and restart when you are ready again, but must start over if you make a mistake, as you cannot edit as you record. Once you have finished the recording, click 'done.'
After clicking done, you will be offered choices for what you want to do with your recording. Initially I chose 'publish to YouTube'. Then I had trouble retrieving/accessing it and it was gone.
I re-recorded my screencast and selected 'publish to video file' which saved it to the desktop. From there I was able to upload it to YouTube without a problem (after watching more YouTube videos on uploading!).
I can see using this when I want to teach my students a new technology or to access a new item on my website/blog, once those are more fully functional. It could also be helpful for parents if they were setting up an account for home use or to help them help their child access something we did in class.