Screencasting, Vine, and Instagram in the Library

As educators there are times when we see something and think, "Hmm, I could use that in my library!" But when we get right down to it there are some logistical hiccups. Which tool is better? Which site will be the easiest for my students to use? How do I make sure that they understand what I am wanting them to do?

As far as ensuring that students understand what is being asked of them with a new tool, creating a screencast is a great way to show students how to use something new in a platform that they will understand. Also with a screencast students have the ability to go back and review the information when they need it, instead of trying to fumble through and remember instructions in the future.

I will be discussing three different modes of creating a screencast with three different technology tools that can be used in the library. I will discuss pros and cons of each of the tools for creating screencasts, as well as my personal opinion about using them.

Screencast-O-Matic:

The first screencasting tool I will discuss is Screencast-O-Matic. This is a free online service that allows you to create your own screencast using their recorder that you will have to download. Here is a screencast that I created using this tool regarding Popplet, a free online mind mapping tool that is also an iPad app.

Pros:

• When you are about to record, this service gives you a count down to make sure that you know when you are to start talking and when your recording will begin.
• As you are recording you have the ability to pause and pick up where you stopped recording.
• When you are done recording you have the option to publish to YouTube, to the Screencast-O-Matic website, or to download the video as a file to your computer.
• Free

Cons:

• This site requires a download to use. If you are on a Chromebook or other laptop that has no hard drive you will not be able to use this service.
• With the free service you have limited amount of storage on the site as well as a limited amount of recording time per video.

QuickTime:

On all Apple computers QuickTime is a application that comes pre-installed. This application not only allows users to watch videos but to create screencasts or use their webcams to record themselves. To demonstrate a screencast with this tool I will show students how to use a service online called ReciteThis, then I will upload my recording to my Screencast-O-Matic account.

Pros: 

• Pre-installed on Macs
• Requires no downloads
• Free

Cons:

• Hard to use during recording. Very little options.
• No progress or status bar while recording.
• Not able to stop and restart while recording.
• To share you have to upload to YouTube.

Adobe Spark:

Adobe Spark is a free online service where you can create videos or edit pictures. There are also free applications that work the same way. For this review I will be using the online service to create a tutorial of the website, ToonDoo. 

Pros:

• Free
• Easy to use
• Online and app
• Drag and drop editing with text, icons, and image options
• Variety of templates

Cons:

• When creating this tutorial I had to take screenshots, convert them to .jpg then upload them to the tutorial.
• No screencasting availability
• Each slide of the video is set to 2 seconds, which is not very long. To change this you have to find the small button which will bring up a drag bar to lengthen each slide.
• To share you have to download to your computer,  then upload to YouTube.

Verdict:

If I were to choose just one of these services to use to create a tutorial for my students I would choose Screencast-O-Matic. This service was the easiest to use and it was the easiest to embed and share. The other two services were either too difficult to use or took too many steps to accomplish the same task. Adobe Spark would be a great service to create a BookTrailer or slideshow, but was unsuited for this specific task.

Social Media in the Library:

With students online and on social media more and more we as librarians need to get out there and get comfortable with these platforms. Two platforms that could be useful in the library that many students are using more and more and Vine and Instagram.

Vine allows users to create short videos and then plays them in a loop. Uses in the library could include having students explain something that they learned, explain how to do something in the library, or how to use a service the library provides. Teachers could use Vine in the classroom as a mini assessment by having students explain a concept they just learned, or provide a definition of a newly learned word. Librarians can use Vine to share what is happening in the library or to get students interested in upcoming events. Here is an example of a couple of Vines I created while in Mexico the past few days visiting family.

Instagram is another social media platform that students are frequently using. Librarians can use this platform to share with students and families what is going on the library as well as promoting upcoming events. During lessons teachers and librarians can have students post to Instagram a snapshot to summarize a lesson with a caption showing what they learned as an assessment or exit ticket. Also, teachers and librarians can use this as a tool to have students share as if they were a character from a book or from history to assess their knowledge of the book or historical period. To show student work librarians and/or teachers can embed the posts on the library website or share the account with families. Here are some examples of some of my recent posts, withe some using an app called PhotoGrid to overlay text on the pictures and to create a collage of a few pictures at a time.

A photo posted by Naomi Emory (@nemory4153) on Jul 4, 2016 at 1:31pm PDT

For the past few days we have been in the mountains, with very little signal. We hiked to three different waterfalls and saw a wonderful castle. We are back in San Luis, but we miss the beautiful mountains already!

A photo posted by Naomi Emory (@nemory4153) on Jul 4, 2016 at 1:23pm PDT

Learning about different ways to help our students is something that we always need to keep up with so that we are doing our very best to meet all of our student's needs in the best possible way. I hope that these ideas are helpful to you and your students.

Happy Learning!

Naomi Emory