Let's get Jing-y with it!

Have you checked out Jing yet?  Jing is the program I use to make the "screencast" demos for F1 Tuesdays and sometimes appear in this blog. For a while now teachers have been asking if they could have access to this program. Well, ask no more; it's yours for the asking! Jing now available on your laptop through advertised programs (look for TechSmith Corp.). (To find out how to locate and install advertised programs watch this video (made with Jing, by the way). By the way, you need to be at school to download advertised programs.)

I think Jing has a lot of classroom applications. Is there a set of instructions or other important information that you find yourself repeating over and over again to students and/or parents? Why not make a Jing? Is there information from today's class you'd like students to be able to review from home? For instance, you could make a PowerPoint that had images and/or information related to an upcoming test. You could record your slide show with your narration for students to review later.

Right now Jing is only available for teachers but in the future we'll look into the possibility of having it available for student use. However, in the meantime, there's nothing stopping a student (if older than 13) from installing and using it on their personal computer.

To learn more, check out the following
Jing Overview Video (click on Overview Video)
Jing Tutorial shows you how to get started using Jing
Jing's Education Page for more information about screencasting in education and some teacher ideas.
Creating Brief Instructional Videos with Jing is a blog post about using Jing in education
How to Adjust Your Microphone Settings You may need to do this before making a Jing.

If you think you might want to Jing (yes, I just used Jing as a verb), here are some helpful tips:

1. Introduce yourself (if appropriate) and your topic.

2. Establish relevance (why are you demonstrating this).

3. Demonstrate steps:

• Less is more: keep it simple.
• Focus on clear, ordered steps. Explain why you're doing what your you're doing when appropriate.
• Point out potential mistakes/mis-steps (e.g. "Here's where it's easy to goof, so be careful that you don't . . .")

4. Conclude with how to get help if they need it or where to get more information.

 

Other Considerations

• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Don't wiggle your mouse all over the place.
• Start with a screen shot that says what you're doing (e.g. a Word document that displays your topic).

So, what about you? Ready to give it a try? (Extra credit if you do and come back here and post the link to your Jing.) OR, if you're not ready to try it yet, just leave your two cents' worth . . . how can you imagine using Jing?