Greetings!
I have recently discovered a great (new to me) free technology tool called Jing. Jing allows you to create a screen cast by capturing anything you see on your computer screen as an image that you can share instantly. You can use it as an image or you can make a short video up to 5 minutes long. I used Jing in a previous course and it was a great help for enhancing a course that I was creating as an assignment for my class.
I wanted to create a slideshow that offered something more than a simple PowerPoint presentation, something I could narrate with my voice. There might be an easier way of doing it, but the best way I found was to first gather up all of the images I wanted to use and then put them into a PowerPoint slideshow. One of the good things about Jing is that you can pause your video at anytime. This was especially handy for changing from one slide to the next.
I captured my first image just as I would when capturing a screenshot, but I was able to manipulate the capture tool to capture all that was on my monitor or just a portion of it, if I so desired. Naturally, I didn't want to include my task bar and everything else that's on my monitor. After doing so, there is an option to either to capture an image, capture a video, redo my selection, or cancel. For my purpose, I used the "capture a video" option. The video began with the first slide that I had saved in my PowerPoint presentation. I was able to narrate the slide and then pause the video. Then I took a screenshot of my second slide and hit the pause button to continue my narration. Many of my slides were scanned images that I took from a book that I was discussing, and so it took a little extra work while using my printer/scanner.
Of course, I was able to embed videos and links to websites into my PowerPoint presentation. These all show up when I captured the images for my video.
After I had finished the video, I got to see my work before publishing it. I was surprised that the quality was as good as it was. I didn't hear any clicks or anything when I went from slide to slide, and the audio was so good that you would never know that it had been paused so often. The only downside is that you only have 5 minutes per video. In my first attempt, I ran out of space and so I had to shorten my narration and do it over. Once satisfied with the video, I submitted it to be put into a screen cast. Once the screen cast was uploaded it gave me the URL to copy and share.
I was very pleased with the work I had created and my instructor was impressed with my efforts. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, I got an A for the course. Jing can be used for all sorts of things. In the tutorial, a man is communicating with his friend who is driving and is trying to locate a restaurant that was recommended to him. From his computer, he made a short screen cast with the image of a map and instantly shared it with his friend. Jing can be used for a myriad of purposes and is a great tool that can be used in or for the classroom. Try Jing; it's free!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteIt's me, James again. This was my second time creating a blog on Google. Even though my first blog was really an introduction for a course I had over a year ago, the process of creating the blog was quite simple. First, I had to check to see if I had an account with Google, which I did have. I found this out my submitting my email address and last known password to a link for the purpose of seeing if I existed. Luckily, I remembered my password as it is one of many I’ve used throughout the years. I was surprised to see that about 135 people have view my first blog, “English Language Learners.”
I was astonished when I clicked on the “activity” tab. It showed the history of everything I have done on the Internet over the past several days, whether from my desktop or from my Samsung Galaxy phone. Last night, I used Google voice on my phone. I wanted to know if Willie Mays was still alive. Sure enough, even that showed up on the Google activity tab. I realized that I have control over what other people can or cannot see. Of course, I did not have to jump through any flaming hoops since nobody but moi can see my recent activity.
As I was saying, the new blog was easy enough to create. I just clicked on the button that said, “New Blog” and it took me to a blank page. I did try to use a template to see what they were like, but it didn’t give me a template. I take that back. I just went to the first blog that I created last year. I clicked on “simple template” and it changed the red template I had chosen to a simple one. I did not apply the changes and so that should remain as it was. So I guess the “simple template” I chose for my new blog did show up. I didn’t know that until I published it and then tried changing the template from my first blog. All is well, and I am going to suppose that I can now change the template for the new blog that I have just created.
A word to the wise! When setting out on this venture today, I thought I would try another free blog site other than Google so that I would get a “new” experience. I typed “free blogs” into my address bar and then chose “The Top 10 Blogging Sites of 2016.” I chose the first one entitled “Site Blog.” Well, I had to choose a domain name and address, after which they requested my full name, email address, and password. Then I was taken to a page that wanted my credit card information, home address, etc. They wanted me to choose from a price list in order to secure my domain name. There was no “skip this page” or anything like that. Then I realized that they were choosing a plan for me, and at the bottom of the page, it said, “Your cost: $119.99” Yeah, right! I scrubbed that idea in an instant. Then I went to the next blog suggestion which was “Site Builder.” I soon realized that they were the same people because of the same forms they wanted me to fill out. This is how they bilk unsuspecting prospective clients out of money! My advice is to stick with Google because it really is free. Of course, you can upgrade for a price, but it’s an option and not a trick!
Kindly, James