Screencast...Take 10
Boy, was this challenging! I totally assumed that creating my screencast would be about as simple as creating my podcast. For the most part, I wasn't too off base with that thought. I used Camtasia to create the screencast and actually found it very user-friendly, even for first-timers like myself. Their screencast tutorials are wonderful. I watched them, created my screencast....then the problems started.
I created my screencast in web format, which is a blip.tv no-no. I, having little (very) knowledge about this whole thing, just didn't know there was a certain format I should be producing the screencast in. So...I attempted to convert the file, which took waaay too long on my home computer. I then thought doing this at work would be faster because of the fast network connection. Well, I finally got it converted to Quicktime. However, when I tried to save it a message popped up that said I needed to own the professional edition in order to save, which I would have to purchase. So, that went out the window.
I then decided to re-record the screencast (again) and produce it in Windows Media. This worked! Only
I could not upload it to blip.tv because this site is blocked at work (K-12 district). When I got home today I was able to upload it fine. It does seem to be too large a file as it plays slow, or either my home connection just isn't fast enough to view it properly.
All of this happened over several frustrating days. Still, I enjoyed creating the screencast and definitely see how beneficial they can be to patrons/students. But boy, am I glad that's over!
