You will benefit greatly from knowing how to create a Screencast, do some basic editing tasks with your screencast or other sources of video, and then, for those that would like to go further, make your screencast interactive using the H5P plugin on your OpenEd.ca WordPress blog. H5P will allow you to add the “instructional wrap” around a video resource by asking questions at a certain point in the video, gather student responses to multiple choice questions, and engage learners. Its like pop up video for the classroom!
Step 1 – Screencast recording
- Note: You will need to use the Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browser as Screencastify is a Chrome plugin. If you don’t have one of these browsers, talk to me about your options, or download and install either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on your laptop.
- Select a website or web game that you are familiar with that you can demonstrate how to use in your screencast tutorial. For example, we have looked at UnSplash.com and OERCommons, so you might want want to make a screencast of how to use these excellent resources for teachers.
- Work through this screencasting with ScreenCastify workshop, and create a 1-2 minute tutorial video for how to use the website you chose to demonstrate (30 min)
Step 2 – Edit your Screencast
- I would like everyone to develop at least a basic competency in video editing as video editing is an important tool for creating multimedia learning objects. Here is an example of the screencast style of video I would like you to create, using your own screencast recording, right after you finish watching it (2 min):
- Edit the screencast video you just created using either the Mac or Windows tutorials depending on your laptop (please use the screencast video you just created and not the “miniature goat” video linked to in the tutorial).
- Following the instructions in the tutorial, either upload your screencast video to YouTube (and then embed it in your blog), or upload your video directly to your blog. You will eventually include your video as part of your weekly reflection.
Step 3 – Make your Screencast Interactive with H5P
- Use the screencast tutorial video you just created, and use this H5P tutorial to turn it into an interactive on your blog: Interactive Videos with H5P (30 min)
Step 4 – Share your Video
If the video is small enough, you can upload it directly into your WordPress site, in the same way you would add a photo. If you go this route, the video is best uploaded as an MP4 file. Apple computers typically output MOV files so you will need to save/export as MP4 or use a conversion program. An MP4 file will play directly on your site, instead of downloading in the case of MOV.
If the video is larger, you may need to consider the use of YouTube as a place to host your video. There is no requirement to setup an account on YouTube for this course, but you may find it a useful tool for sharing video (or you may already have an account!). Sharing the video as ‘unlisted‘ means it will not show up in search and will only be accessible in the places where you share it. For example, embedded on your portfolio or via a link in an email or instant messaging service. Here is some guidance on sharing an unlisted video.
Some Further Challenges to Explore
- Integrate an openly licensed video from pexels.com or audio file from the Free Music Archive into your project
- Bring an image, video, or audio file from your own collection into your project
- Explore Digital Storytelling as an approach to video creation
- Export your creation to a video (MP4), audio file (MP3), or try an animated GIF
- Upload your project to YouTube, Vimeo, or SoundCloud then share on your WordPress site
- Explore further media development resources on our class website
Remember to reach out to your instructor if you need assistance.
Photo by Katerina Holmes from Pexels
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