Screencast-O-Matic: Flipping the language classroom

In the previous posts, I have introduced a few education tools like Nearpod, Blendspace and Voicethread with which students can learn at home at their own pace. But all of them have the same problem - students feel rather distant with the teacher/ tutor as they can't really feel the existence of him/her. The tool that I'm introducing this time, Screencast-O-Matic, will totally solve this problem!

What is Screencast-O-Matic?

It is basically a presentation recording tool which allows users to record all of the actions on their computer as well as audio commentary and save the recording for sharing or future playback.

Why Screencast-O-Matic?

1. It is FREE!!

If you ever tried other screen recorder, they are mostly free for a trial period only. So this one is really something to die for! Even if you have an in-built screen recorder, the functions still couldn't be compared to Screencast-O-Matic.

2. It is REALLY EASY to use

Once the recorder is installed and running, the user can adjust the size of the captured area. Once the captured space is set, all you have to do is just to click the "record" button. Users can pause at any point or simply start all over again. Once the recording is done, you can save it to your computer in AVI, MP4 or FLV which are all popular file format. Besides, you can also upload it to the Screencast-O-Matic webpage or YouTube for sharing.

This is the recorder you have to install.

3. The quality is GREAT

There is no lag between actions and commentary and the audio is really clear! It is basically like watching a live show right in front of you!!!

Why does it help ELT?

It is a great tool for a flipped classroom. Just in case you are not familiar with terminology, a flipped classroom is a type of blended learning and in which students will learn the course content outside of the classroom, either before or after class. This way, the class time can be used to explore the theories with greater depth and carry out other interactive activities which both involve higher-order thinking and need greater help from teachers and peers.

How to use it for ELT?

1. Go over the answers with detailed explanations

Class time is precious. It is not possible for teachers to spend over an hour to go over the answers of a test. So why don't we create a screencast that explains the solutions and students can watch and re-watch it at home?


2. Explanation for grammar points

It is not uncommon for students whose first language isn't English to make the same grammatical mistakes again and again. So teachers can do a screencast to explain some frequently made grammatical mistakes for students to revise at home.


3. Great tool for speaking practice

ESL/EFL learners may feel embarrassed to produce English in class, but what if the target audience is only their teacher? We can ask students to do speaking practice using Screencast-O-matic and submit to us. In turn, we can do a screencast to give them feed back as well. That well, students can have practice for their listening too!

Thing to concern...

Before that, I want to share with you my screencast about difficulties you may encounter when installing the Screencast-O-Matic recorder.

• It is highly dependent on the internet. Once the internet connection is gone, you can't use this web-based app anymore.

• The maximum length for a video of a free account is at most 15 minutes only.

• There is a watermark at the bottom of the video.

• You can't monitor students' progress or even if they have watched the videos. 

• Take a long time to save/ upload the video.

Sources

Screencasts. (2014). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/educational-technologies/all/screencasts 

Tech in the Classroom: Screencast-O-Matic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech-in-the-classroom/screencast-o-matic.shtml