Screencast tools free#

The audience for Screencast-o-Matic includes anyone with some familiarity with online tools who needs to create content such as brief tutorials of processes, demonstrations of software, visual cues to navigating websites, etc. Many users can create a usable video from scratch within half an hour of first using the tool. One of the most important features of Screencast-o-Matic is its ease of use, especially if you are familiar with the basics of programs such as YouTube and Zoom. This review will examine its features, advantages, and disadvantages. CloudApp is a well-reviewed option that has entered the scene more recently, but Screencast-o-Matic remains an excellent and user-friendly option. Some tools have come and gone: Screenr and Screentoaster are no longer available, and the very popular program Jing, while still available, has been bought by TechSmith and is now called TechSmith Capture.

Screencast tools free#

As these platforms each require a fairly substantial financial investment and a steeper learning curve (especially for individuals and small organizations), many screencasters are turning to free tools, which are evolving to add features to their basic versions. Of the latter, Camtasia (a product of TechSmith) and Captivate (a product of Adobe) are the best-known. There are many options for screencasting tools, both free platforms offering basic features and paid platforms with greater complexity and sophistication. They can also demonstrate a reproducible path through a resource, including mouse movements, choices and locations of user options on a page, changing to other screens, etc. Screencasts of a library resource can be watched at any time, watched multiple times, and adapted to varying learning styles and needs. Since the 2020 pandemic, however, screencasting has come into its own as librarians, instructors, and others seek avenues for connecting with their users in asynchronous and hands-on modes to improve online learning while libraries are closed.

Screencasting has been used mainly for library instruction and communications and has been a valuable tool for pedagogies involving microlearning (content delivered in small portions). An excellent early guide by tech guru Greg Notess, Screencasting for Libraries, was released in 2012. Screencasting, defined as creating a video recording with or without audio of real-time actions and/or content on a computer screen, has been of interest to libraries for some time now.