Create a screencast
Amy Hochberg, Utah State University
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection
This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.
- First Publication: May 10, 2017
- Reviewed: May 10, 2019 -- Reviewed by the On the Cutting Edge Activity Review Process
Summary
Students create a Power Point presentation on a topic of their choice. Then they make this presentation into a screencast using the free program, called Jing. The students do this by narrating their Power Point using a rubric that I've provided.
Topics
Geoscience Grade Level
High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)
Readiness for Online Use
Online Ready 
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Learning Goals
Content/concepts goals
Students become the master of their chosen topic and have an opportunity to educate their peers about it. They commonly choose a weather topic of interest to them, either because they've experienced it in the past, are afraid of it, or are intrigued by it. Thus, they have a vested interest in learning about their chosen topic.
Higher order thinking skills goals
This assignment requires students to research their topic and present their newly acquired information in a clear, organized and understandable manner.
Other skills goals
As an added bonus, students learn how to create a screencast using Jing. Hopefully they will have the opportunity to use this new skill in a future class or job.
Context for Use
Type and level of course
Creating a screencast would be a useful activity in any course! In particular, I require students in my Natural Disasters class to create a 5 minute screencast on a weather topic of their choice, such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, blizzards, etc.
Skills and concepts students should have mastered
Students with basic computer skills and a computer with a microphone can create a screencast. Since a screencast can be created for any topic, no particular concept needs to be mastered in advance.
How the activity is situated in the course
This activity is situated in the middle of my Natural Disasters course and it is the first exercise in a sequence of three. The follow up activity asks students to peer review and grade the screencasts of two other students in the class. The third activity involves creating four multiple choice exam questions on their screencast topic.
Description and Teaching Materials
Below are instructions that I provide for my students on how to create a screencast using a program called Jing. I also included the rubric I use for this assignment, which pertains to weather, but of course can be modified for any use.
Instructions for using Jing (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 13kB May2 17)
Screencast Rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 14kB May2 17)
Teaching Notes and Tips
The instructions on how to use Jing are adequate for about 90% of my students. About 10% of my students need extra coaching on how to use the program in order to create a successful screencast.
Assessment
Included above is the rubric I use to assess whether students have adequately met the assignment goals.
References and Resources
No additional references are needed.
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