Camtasia is one of the most user-friendly screen recorder and video editor that I have ever used. While it is not free – there is a free trial and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. I know I was extremely impressed with the tool and have it as one of my most used tools in my ID toolkit. I use Camtasia at least once a week (if not more).
Camtasia is so flexible for use in a wide-variety of environments. Let’s take a minute and discuss how it can be used.
Online Learning:
I use Camtasia for all of my video recordings. I use it for my weekly overview videos for my online courses. I use it for the screen capture capabilities (when providing audio feedback). I use it to walk students through difficult parts of a course or even to explain different aspects of Blackbaord when teaching. It has had a great impact on my online courses with student evaluations reporting that these videos help to build social presence (by seeing and hearing my voice). They are able to get information in two different formats (via text and video). When comparing my course evaluations from before using videos and after using Camtasia videos – I see a directly link with student learning and understanding of concepts.
Instructional Uses for Camtasia:
Building Social Presence
Weekly overview videos
Audio feedback
Instructor introduction video
Course Development
Walking through tasks
Course navigation
Assignment explanations
These are just a few ideas for using Camtasia in online courses! How else could you see using Camtasia in the classroom?
Corporate:
In many cases when companies are just starting up – they may not be able to afford the best production companies to provide advertising space. By using Camtasia, companies would be able to produce videos or ads for online viewers. Camtasia allows for videos to be directly uploaded to YouTube, Screencast.com, Vimeo, Google Drive, or even just a local file that will allow for the video to be essentially uploaded anywhere. While advertising is great, it can also be a great tool for employee development or training. Rather than individually train individuals when hired, videos could be created and the accessed later for reference when training employees on a wide array of tasks.
K-12 Environments:
With the growth of e-learning days (school snow days), K-12 instructors can use Camtasia to walk students through tasks when completing homework or tasks outside of the classroom. This can be of great benefit to parents as well. With creation of videos or screencasts using Camtasia, parents can also be involved in the learning of material.
How do you use Camtasia?
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