Screencastify is a quick and easy way to record yourself and your desktop using the Chrome browser extension. Make quick videos introducing a lesson, explaining a difficult concept, or sharing a website. Your students will appreciate seeing you embedded in the screen helping add to their feeling more connected to you and the information you're sharing.
icon to the right of the address bar to start recording.| ❐ Record your videos in a quiet environment so you won’t be interrupted mid-recording. Remember that BBC interview when Marion and James interrupted their father? Need I say more? |
| ❐ Set up a designated area so you don’t have to recreate it each time you want to make a video. |
| ❐ Make a test video and watch it closely for any background distractions. You don’t want your students to get sidetracked by your living room decor. |
| ❐ Start with a new browser window so your other tabs aren’t visible. |
| ❐ Hide your bookmark bar if yours is visible. |
| ❐ Turn off any notifications you have set for your desktop - you don’t want your email or other notifications popping up while you’re recording. |
| ❐ On a Mac, hide your dock so it doesn’t pop up while filming. |
| ❐ Set your computer so that your webcam is at eye-level. You don't want your students distracted by looking up your nose or at the top of your head while watching! |
| ❐ Keep it professional—dress the same as you would to teach face-to-face. |
| ❐ Be yourself—if you’re known for your hat collection or wry sense of humor, don’t hide that. Your students will appreciate the continuity. |
| ❐ Be honest—if you’re really nervous, you can share that with your students. They know you and will probably be really supportive of your efforts to try something new. We ask them to do that all the time so they know how hard it is. |
| ❐ It’s stressful recording yourself at first, so practice as much as you need to feel comfortable. |
| ❐ Sometimes it helps to write a script with bullet points to make sure you cover the material. It’s easy to get flustered and a script helps to keep your dialog on track. |
| ❐ Don’t make them long. You’ll lose the attention of your students, and they’ll miss out on the key information. |
| ❐ Keep it simple. Don’t spend a lot of time on production and editing. Avoid multiple takes and hit send even if the video has mistakes. Perfectionism will cost you valuable time. |
| ❐ Don’t be a talking head. 2-3 minutes is the most a human being can take staring at a person talking. Avoid using video as a means of lecturing or delivering content. |
| Video Don'ts courtesy of Eric Hudson, Director of Learning and Design, Global Online Academy |
