FTT - Screencastify

https://www.screencastify.com/

Integrating Video in the Chromebook Classroom with Screencastify

@joe_edtech

I spent the last several years at a school district that is integrating iPads into the classroom. Now I'm at a Chromebook school. So, it is not uncommon for me to get questions about how different the two devices are and which one I like better. My standard answer has been that the Chromebook is a far easier tool to use in the classroom on a daily basis, but that the iPad is leaps and bounds in front of the Chromebook when it comes to recording, editing, and publishing video. However, that standard answer is changing because the "Video Gap" is narrowing - quickly.

I have previously written about how easy it is for students to create screencasts on their Chromebooks using Snagit for Chrome by Techsmith. However, recently I started Screencastify, and in some ways I think it is even more versatile and easy to use than Snagit, though I think both are worthwhile tools.

Screencastify is a free Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store. Once you've installed the extension, and given it access to your Google Drive Account, the Screencastify icon appears in your Chrome tool bar. Click it and you can record an active Chrome Tab, the entire internal display - great for recording a full screen presentation, or record from your Chromebook's camera. If you are flipping your lessons, you might consider selecting the option to embed the webcam in the bottom-right corner of the screen. That way your students connect with you and not just your content.

One of the features I really like about Screencastify is that you can pause your screen recording and continue with the same recording later on, handy for transitions or breaks in the recording.

When you finish recording, you have the option of making the video a little more polished by trimming the beginning or ending. Also, assuming you checked this option when setting it up, your video will never be stored locally on your computer. It will automatically be saved to a Screencastify folder in "My Drive."

Here are two sets of directions on getting started with Screencastify. First, traditional written directions using Google Slides:

Secondly, video instructions posted on YouTube (I originally created this for a classroom of students, so you can share this with your classes if you want):

Three things to keep in mind if you use Screencastify. First, your Chrome OS must be up to date (letting the OS updates run on a regular basis is a good idea anyway). Secondly, even though the videos are not stored locally, Screencastify requires 1 Gig of space on a Chromebook. We only discovered this because it wouldn't run on some of our "loaner" Chromebooks which had been in circulation since the beginning of the year with multiple users. And finally, Screencastify, and most other screencasting tools, will run poorly if at all on Chromebooks with older or slow processors. It runs perfectly on our Acers and Dells. It does not work at all on our Samsungs.

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Do you have your students create videos for class? If you do, what tools do you have them use?