Carolyn Kraut

Some of you may already be familiar with a great screencasting tool called Jing. This software helps you create annotated screen captures and narrated screencasts very easily. The files can either be stored on your computer or uploaded to Flickr or screencast.com for sharing and embedding.

I still use Jing at least twice a day to create quick images like this…

But when it comes to screencasts, I’ve found something even better. Screenr helps you make quick screencasts for your students and provides you with a variety of distribution methods. If you’re already invested in Jing, you may want to take a second look . I’ve outlined a few key reasons why you should make the switch.

Web-based recorder uses your Twitter account to log in. This is great for two reasons:

1. There’s no software to download and the “bookmarklet” works the same regardless of your browser or operating system.

2. No need to remember another password and makes the next item possible.

Seamless Twitter integration. After you’re done recording, you’re asked to describe your video and given the option to post to Twitter now or on your own later. Your screencast is then processed and posted to your Screenr account. Viewers can discuss the screencast from the videos’s page by Re-tweeting or replying to the author, share the URL, grab the embed code, or subscribe to your rss feed. Watch this video to learn more about Screenr’s user interface.

The videos are mobile friendly. Unlike the Flash-based Jing videos, Screenr publishes multiple versions of your video and all can be viewed on a mobile device. You can download the .mp4 to distribute your videos in podcast form, publish to YouTube, or simply share the URL with your audience any way you’d like. Here’s a quick video to show what a Screenr screencast looks like on an iPhone.

Best of all…it’s free!

Not on Twitter? It’s worth signing up just to use Screenr!

We are constantly looking for better ways to communicate with our students – especially online students. It’s no secret that Blackboard, Moodle, and many other LMS’s fall short in this area. Discussion boards were a great start about 5 years ago – and even Skype – but the web has changed. We need something more dynamic and easier to manage.

Google was on the right track with the development of Gmail, Google Docs, Chat, Sites (wiki), Picasa, ect. These tools changed the way we collaborate on a project, write and share papers, files, and images, and how we search and organize email. They have attempted to integrate all of those things into a single platform. Google Wave.

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I have an iPhone. After about 4 weeks, that sentence still makes me feel as giddy as the day I went to my first Stanley Cup playoff game. This device has truly changed my life, which seems to be a common theme amongst smart phone users. I’d like to briefly share the things I like about Apple’s iPhone 3GS, but will focus more on what I think could be improved based on other devices on the market.

I consider myself to be generally well organized – mostly attributed to my early adoption of quasi-cloud computing via Dropbox and everything that is Google. However, until now, I had no mobility. I had post-its in my office, illegible reminders scribbled onto receipts in my car, random notes spread all over my house. All because I could not remember anything for myself or was too lazy to run to a computer. Those days are over. I have a centralized to-do list and calendar. Easy access to Google Docs, iTunes and Amazon (which is actually quite dangerous). The most recent or important messages/emails are always with me. I’m finally at peace with the speed at which my mind races. These are the practical reasons why the iPhone has changed my life. Of course there are things like Sudoku, Bowling, Air hockey, and Paper Football that make “waiting in line more tolerable,” to loosely quote a friend. Read the rest of this entry »