Teaching with Screentoaster
West Los Angeles College – TechFair Presentation – Spring 2010
Diane Matsuno ()
What is Screentoaster?Screentoaster is a great teaching tool. If you want to demonstrate how to use a computer program or create a mini-lecture using a museum website, Screentoaster will record (video)of what you are viewing on your computer desktop and your voice.
What do I need to use Screentoaster? All you need is an Internet connection and a computer microphone if you want to record your voice. Most laptops have internal mikes. Headphones with an attached microphone are superb and cost about $25 - $30. The Screentoaster.com program is free. You will need to create a free account to publish (upload) your video.
How will my students get access to this video? Once you finish your recording, you publish the video by uploading it to your Screentoaster account. Screentoaster provides a URL link to this video. This link can be inserted in Etudes or it can besent to students by email. The HTML code for this URL can also be embedded in a blog. Students do not need to create a Screentoaster account to view the video.
Is Screentoaster a reliableprogram?Screentoaster is very reliable. It won an award in 2008 as one of the best, free programs. Downtime has not been an issue. It is very easy to use, as well. It works with Windows, Macs and Linux.
Teaching with Screentoaster
Creating a Screencast –
1. Login to Create an account(login name and password). Click on the Register link. You can create a screencast without an account but you will need to login to publisher/distribute the screencast.
2. Start the Screentoaster Recorder: Login to your Account. Click on Record. Click on Start Recording. A small window will appear. It is loading the program to record your video. If you want audio, make sure your microphone is plugged into your computer. Then, click on the audio button and select a microphone option. Click allow. You will know the microphone is live if you see the color bar moving. Adjust audio level to about 90.
3. Record activity on your Desktop. Go to your computer desktop and open the program you want to record.* Start your recording by pressing the alt + s keyat the same time. Your recording will start. To stop the recording, press the alt + s key to pause the recording. Go back to the window running Screentoaster, and click on the stop recoding button. The length in time and the size of the video file is displayed. Plan the content of your videos so they are of a reasonable length and size. *If you want to record a website, run your Internet browser again and go to that website. Do not close the window running Screentoaster.
4. Publish the video. Preview your video and make sure your audio was recorded. Then, upload the video to Screentoaster. Name the video that describes its content. The URL link to the stored video is generated. Other options are uploading to YouTube, or downloading the video as a .mov file or a .swf file.
Other options:
Include a webcam of yourself narrating the video. It appears as a small window on the desktop.
Publish the recording as a private site – means it can only be viewed if the URL link is provided.
Students can add comments to the video when viewed.
Many of your questions can be answered by going to the FAQ link located on the home page.
Note: You may need to install the Java and Flash plug-ins to run the Screentoaster recorder.