Screencastle - another screen casting site

A few days ago I reviewed Screenr, a webcasting/screen capture program that works in tandem with your Twitter account. While Screenr is easy to use, the lack of an email address is a problem for younger students or classes wanting to share a project.

Introducing ScreenCastle. This web-based program allows students to record a project (i.e. Slideshow with audio, a story, a news item, etc) and immediately make it available on the internet. ScreenCastle gives you a URL to view, as well as an embed code to put on a class website. (Using a DownLoadHelper, a Firefox plug in, you can even download it in avi format, but this is not a option provided by the site itself.)

Important: Make note of the URL generated.  Although no account or email is needed to do the recording and publishing (so easy!), students must make a note of the URL that is generated (ie copy into a Word document) because there is no other way to find the uploaded video after the fact.

As I mentioned, you can also get embed codes too, but you need to get these at the time the video is uploaded, or there is no way to recover the code.

The sheer ease of use makes this an interesting web app to use in the classroom.

Math Game Site: Manga High

Games have always been a great way to interest students in material. Teachers have used games for review, introducing a topic, or for practice. While there are a great many Math games sites out there, Manga High has some very slick flash games that are sure to intrigue your students. While the creators of the site want you to sign your students up as members of Manga High, visitors can play a selection of games for free. Prodigi, Algebra Meltdown, BIDMAS Blaster, Ice Ice Maybe, Pyramid Panic, Flower Power, Transtar, Save Our Dumb Planet: each game introduces and practices some aspect of the Math curriculum. (Note: these are flash games and wont work on an iPad - maybe an android tablet will!)


http://www.mangahigh.com/en_us/games/

Adding AV tutorials to your website

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video can be even more valuable! When you want to explain the "how-to" of a strategy or lesson, or...whatever, Screenr can be just the ticket, This great little web-based app will let you  capture (screen and audio) a short (5 mins max) video tutorial that you can post to Twitter, embed in a blog or send to Youtube. You can even download the finished video as an mp4, and archive it for future use. The steps are easy to follow and you'll be pleased with the results.

Below, I've posted a demo I made on how to access our district online databases via a school library catalog. (BTW, the yellow "glow" around the mouse in the tutorial is courtesy of http://www.2point5fish.com/ and their mini-app "Mouse Locator",  for the Mac.)