Instructify

April 9, 2009

Many of us spend a lot of time showing the same things over and over to various colleagues or students. Recording your computer screen or “screencasting” is a great way to cut down on some of these repetitive tasks. The problem is that many of these screencasting tools can cost $300 or more. However, a new web tool available from Skoffer gets the job done at a much better price — free.

ScreenCastle.com is an amazingly simple screencasting tool. Upon visiting their site, you’re greeted by only one button, which starts recording. The tool uses Java, which most of us have installed on our computers already. If you don’t have Java or need to upgrade your version, you can get it at Java’s website. After clicking on record, select the size and the section of the screen you want to record. This is a great feature which allows you to pinpoint a specific area of your screen. You also have the option to record audio from a microphone. If you’d like to narrate your screencast, be sure this button is checked. There is no way to edit the audio once you’ve recorded, so you’ll need to be a “one-take actor.” Don’t worry, you can easily start over if you mess up. When you’re happy with the area you’ve selected click OK. When you’re finished recording simply click on Finished, watch the preview and, if you’re happy, click Save. It’s as simple as that.

ScreenCastle.com is an incredibly easy, free solution for creating screencasts and recording your narration. It certainly doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of any of it’s expensive counterparts, but if you’re looking to create quick and simple videos, this is the tool to use. -JERRY SWIATEK

Check out a sample screencast here.

ScreenCastle.com

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