Camtasia and YouTube

Ron Cipcic

“My inspiration for the videos I have produced for my micro web course came from the Kahn Academy. I discovered Kahn’s videos on YouTube last summer and really liked them. So I watched a Kahn video on how to make a Kahn video (figure), learned what software was needed, and began the process of preparing myself to produce Kahn-quality videos for my web students. When a student watches one of my videos, the student sees me writing on a ‘whiteboard’ (by the way, your board doesn’t have to be white) but doesn’t see me or my hand. As I write on my computer screen using a pen tool, the screen is “videoed.” My voice can be heard explaining what is written.

To produce these videos, I had to buy a Bamboo pen tool and Camtasia software for my Mac. I was able to download a “free” version of Sketchbook. Once a video is produced, I upload it to YouTube. My online and F2F students have given me very positive feedback about these videos. In fact, they love them! (I am developing a cult following. It’s embarrassing.) They supplement the more important and more difficult material of the course.”