Screencastify

What is Screencastify?

Screencastify is a free Google Chrome extension for screen recording. When using Screencastify you can simply record everything that you are doing on your screen and share it with other sources.  These sources include social media, Youtube, your personal webpage, and whoever else you want to share it with! This website allows its users to record videos up to ten minutes long and up to fifty videos per month! If that is not enough then there is an additional plan, which includes an additional price, where you can go for longer than ten minutes and record more than fifty videos a month!

Screencastify allows you to save the video online, on your computer, or to your GoogleDrive. Not only does Screencastify work when you are online and connected to the internet but it also works when you are offline too. This means when you are not on connected to the internet you can still record, save, and edit your screen recording. This feature makes created a different lesson much easier! Screencastify can be used for personal, school, or work-related activities which broadens the users and resources that you can find through this website.

This screen recording can capture your whole screen, a tab, or just a window on your computer. This means you can share what you want to share rather than everything that is visible to you. If you are sharing a project and you do not want all of your other tabs to be visible then sharing just your one tab that you are working on would be the best option for you. However, if you are creating providing various resources and documents within your screen recording then using a whole screen recording will work best for this scenario. Not only does Screencastify show your screen but it also allows you to record your voice too!

This screen recording process also adds additional features such as a mouse spotlight to really capture your viewer's attention on something important that you are showing them. You can also use the mouse to draw on your screen recording while you are recording. Another additional tool that Screencastify offers is a click highlighting tool to show where you are clicking to for those who are following along or using your recording as a tutorial on how to do something.

How do you use Screencastify?

To start using screencastify you create an account and decide what type of screencasting youu would like to use. From here the casting will begin. After you start your casting you then can decide what types of tools you would like to use, highlighting tool, webcam, mouse spotlight, and drawing tool, to help your lessons run smoother. From here all you have to do is show what you want! You can use this to show a lesson, a discussion, or even a webpage. This can be recorded prior to showing it or you can record your screen to show those who are not in class what you did today.

Another common use of screencasting is to use it for sub lesson plans. Many teachers have reported using this program to help them when they are absent from class but still, want the class to run as if they are there. In order for this to work, the teacher uses screencastify to share their whole screen, audio, and webcam if they feel comfortable. From there they can decide what they want to show and how they want to show it. This allows the class to be taught the lesson rather than doing "busy work" and falling behind on the content. The only thing that the substitute has to do from this point is press play to start the recording and the class will go on.

Research on Screencastify in the Classroom
Over the past couple of years, there has been more research and use of what we call a "flipped classroom." This is when the instructional content is given to the students outside of the classroom typically through the use of the internet and videos. Then when the students come into class, after learning outside of the classroom, they work on activities and projects that would have typically been done for homework. Teachers are able to record lectures on Screencastify and then share it with their students to perform this flipped classroom model. Screencastify allows teachers to record the whole lecture, part of a lecture, assignments, problems and solutions, and feedback to the students.

Screencastify also helps teachers keep track of their busy lives by recording and sharing what they are doing in class. If they are not using this flipped classroom model, teachers are still able to record what they did in class that day and share it as a resource for students and parents to go back to when working outside of the classroom. In the classroom, teachers might also share other teacher's screens that they have found online through the website. There is also a page within the website that shares webinars for both teachers and students to view.

This resource can easily be used by students as well. You can have them perform presentations using this website and have them publish it for their peers to see. You can also have them hand this in as a project. Another use for Screencastify would be to check the understanding of a certain skill. This could be how to find information, a math problem, or anything else that you are teaching in class. They can do this project either in the classroom or outside the classroom and hand it in as an assessment to check their understanding.

My Personal Experience 
I have not had much personal experience with this application until I came to college. I have now seen my professors using this application to host classes outside of class when there is inclement weather or they are unable to make it to class. This use of the program keeps me and my peers on track to learn all of our needed lessons and also have a resource to go back to at any time considering it is usually posted online somewhere. Not only is it convenient but it also makes the class more interesting. Having the class done like this or in a flipped classroom style allows students to go at their own pace. Sometimes when sitting in class there are times that students may doze off or stop paying attention as the class goes on and having the class prereocrded you can go at your own pace. However, it does get complicated when you have a question in the middle of the lesson and have no one to ask as you are not in a room with the teacher or professor.

References 
Curtis, E. (2017, January 13). 7 Super Screencasting Activities for School. Retrieved from https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2017/01/screencasting-activities.html.

Screencastify. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.screencastify.com/.

Screencastify. (2017, May 25). Retrieved October 29, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ieATZ5fwk.

Skype Skills

Getting to Know Skype

Skype is an online video chatting tool that can be used for various reasons. These reasons may include personal use, business use, or even educational use. Skype can also be used for messaging and international calling which makes the available connections almost endless. This program can be used on phones, tablets, computers, and even smartwatches and some video game consoles. Therefore, you can either download skype on your computer or it doubles as an app for various tablets and phones. Majority of how this program work is the same on both types of uses. On the app, it is a little more condensed but you still get all the same features and abilities that you would have on the computer. This is an example of what the screen would look like both on the computer and on a phone. They have the chatting feature as well as the ability to create groups to start a video chat call. An additional bonus to using Skype is that it is free! However, if you decide to add international calling on a mobile device it is an additional cost, but you do get a month free trial! Skype gives you the option to chat with one or multiple people in all forms of communication- chatting, video chatting, or calling.

On top of the personal use of Skype, businesses can use it as a way to check in with one another or use it for conference meetings. Skype also allows the user to share their screen which can be beneficial for both educational use and business use. Skype is also pairing with the Microsoft Teams program which adds to the abilities of Microsoft Office 365 and the benefits that businesses get from using it. This Microsoft piece allows users to share files from their accounts through Skype to others who need to view or work on them. Working on projects in both of these fields is now becoming easier and easier when technology is being used. On top of having Skype help the overall functionality of connecting with people from other places, Skype can also give you the option to record your screen and share it later or subtitle the conversation so that everyone can both see and hear what you are saying. 

Skype in the Classroom

Using Skype in the classroom you can take the student onto virtual field trips as well as explore with other schools what they are learning. On the Virtual Filed trip page, you can explore different options based on subject, age group, and location. These trips allow you to take your students to museums, parks, zoos, and other places that you may encounter through reading a textbook or a place that comes up in classroom discussion. For example, they can create projects based around a museum in another country and create a presentation on it. On this website, there are also step by step instructions on how to use Virtual Field Trips and how to set up your Skype to allow you to access all of it correctly. If all that information still is not enough Skype offers a course on how to use this piece. Then you can share your experience with on your trip to other educators and people around the world.

As for exploring other schools, you can connect via video chat with other countries and classrooms via the Educational Skype program. You can also use this as a way for students to explore places that are not in direct reach, but now they can explore it on their own virtually. As an educator, you can connect with others across the world. There is an option to also connect with already finished collaborative works from different locations, subjects, and age levels. Here you and your students can gain more understanding of various cultures and gain skills such as empathy and compassion for others. You may also work collaboratively on a project with another group of students or several groups of students. Then when you complete this project with your class you will also be able to share it with Skype to pass along to even more people.

In addition to these features, Skype in the Classroom has guest speakers broadcasted on the website for additional learning. On this part of the website, there is also a step by step instruction page on how to use Guest Speakers both in your classroom and the general knowledge of how to set up on your own. Again, if all that information still is not enough Skype offers a course on how to use these Guest Speakers correctly and efficiently! There is also an added bonus to this area of Skype in the Classroom, this addition is that you can apply to become a guest speaker if you are an expert in one area or another. Through this page, you can find a speaker that knows about the topic you are sharing and teaching your class and you can watch videos that they have already posted or use this as a resource to start your research on that particular person or topic. Then from here, you can invite the speaker to collaborate with your classroom. You can invite the person to talk to your class and give them advice and inspiration for their own work and learning.

Students are also able to work collaboratively with others both in their own classroom and in other classrooms maybe even in other countries. Students can create connections and resources through this website and also learn about different topics through the Skype Lessons page. Again on this page, you can search through all the lessons available on the page and sort through them by age, subject, and location. These lessons are often related to some of the guest speakers that have already launched their videos in that section of the website, but this page offers other topics and another resource to start a lesson. Educational Skype also works hand in hand with Microsoft which also brings other pieces of technology to the classroom where students can use them to create projects and have another learning tool.

One last area that Skype in the Classroom offers is the Mystery Skype option. This is a fun game that classrooms can play to try and guess where the other class is from. You can sign up as a class to be a mystery classroom and then be paired with other classes that are also playing the game. There are additional resources like worksheets and notebooks to help take notes and look for clues that might help you solve the mystery. There is also a song that you and your class can learn in a way to get your class engaged and have more fun with it! Through all of these areas on this page and the opportunities that Skype offers your students are gaining more out of their learning. They are gaining communication skills, problem-solving skills, and overall life skills by adding more technology in the classroom. Here your students can develop a well- rounded mind and become globally indulged in their learning by exploring other countries. This exploration happens both by video chatting and these virtual field trips and other lessons offered online. Your students can also gain skills and open their minds to other topics and ideas by watching other students model concepts different from the way that they are used to seeing it be done. 

My Experience with Skype

In my personal experience with Skype, I have used it for both my personal use as well as in my classes. I have been using Skype for years now to video chat with both friends and family. I used to use it more when I did not have access to Facetime. I remember in the freshman year of high school we actually took the time and used Skype in the classroom. At this time I was taking a Spanish class and my teacher wanted to connect with one of his contacts from a high school back in Columbia. While we were on here we connected with a class that had students around the same age as we did. We both showed each other a little bit of our classroom while we displayed their screen up on our SmartBoard. Then we tried to have a little bit of a conversation in both Spanish and English. Just being able to see the difference in cultures at both the school level and other areas such as dress and structure of life opened us up to learn more about each other. Having the conversation in Spanish made it real to my class. We were learning this new language but only practicing it with each other and on assessments. Now we were able to have another connection, a connection that was not right next to us but rather one that was hours away.  Both my teacher and the teacher in Columbia were able to plan this into their lesson and create a lesson plan together. They were collaboratively working on getting this connection and planning future times to work on projects together and connect other classes too. This was an important piece for a language class and I believe it can be important for other classes as well.

Having this global mindset pushed into our classes makes it feel more real. It is one thing to learn from a textbook and see how different other places are but then seeing it and hearing it from others that are in that place make it real. Now knowing how much more is out there for the uses of Skype and the resources that the company is producing I do plan on using it in my classroom. We can connect with other schools, reach out to experts in a field we are studying, and take virtual field trips to places that we come across in our learning. My students can also use this as a way to connect with each other. They can use this as a chatting resource or a place to share their screens when working on a project. These skills that they can learn through Skype will be able to be carried over into their personal and work lives later on.

References

Communication tool for free calls and chat. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.skype.com/en/.

Heick, T. (2019, January 16). 50 Ideas For Using Skype In Your Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/50-ideas-for-using-skype-in-your-classroom/.

Skype in the Classroom - Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/overview.