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| News You Can Use |
November 2008 | Issue 59 |
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| Letter from the Editor: Camtasia Studio takes a step forward |
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We've got a little bit of everything this month. A new version of Camtasia Studio, a new feature and pricing for Screencast.com, and just to throw some SnagIt in there, a new SnagIt tutorial.
With Camtasia Studio 6, we are taking a step forward with the new MPEG-4 video format, based on the industry's best encoding technology (H.264). The beauty of it is, you don't have to know a thing about techie jargon to produce HD-quality web video at compact file sizes. Just click any of the new or rebuilt production presets...and Camtasia Studio 6 takes care of the rest.
So while you could think of MPEG-4 as the "Format for Our Future" because it elegantly supports richer video with more motion...or you might call it the "One Format to Rule Them All" because it eliminates all the anxiety about what settings to choose...we prefer to call it "easy."
A couple months ago I also received some feedback from subscribers wanting more information on Camtasia Studio and SCORM. This month, I attempted to give that to you. This is an overview of what SCORM is and how Camtasia Studio works with it. This is a pretty complex topic so we can do more on it in the future, if there is interest. Be sure to email me if you want more.
Enjoy!
Katie Birmingham
Newsletter Editor
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Camtasia Studio 6 has arrived!
The new version of Camtasia Studio is all about saving you time...and making you look great.
Many of the enhancements and new features in this release come as a direct result of suggestions from you, the user.
The top 8 features are:
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See what's new! |
- HD-quality video for the web (new H.264-based format)
- Independent audio & video editing
- Time-saving hotkeys
- Import and edit MOV files
- 3D tilt effect
- Finer control over effects timing
- Screencast.com preset for easy uploading
- Rebuilt Recorder
Get all the details here »
If you've bumped up against a particular limitation or even a bug within Camtasia Studio, you might also want to check the complete version history to see if it's been resolved in this release. You'll also see a list of features removed, and why.
One more thing...you can now get a will-not-expire, always-FREE Screencast.com account with 2GB of storage and 2GB of monthly bandwidth. (Plus there's a new Pro account that's more generous and simpler than the old accounts.) There's never been a better time to use Screencast.com for simple, direct sharing of your high-quality videos!
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Communication is at its best when it's a two-way conversation. Don't you appreciate having a way to respond to something you see online?
Screencast.com now offers a commenting feature that helps you connect with your viewers and have a real conversation with them. Use it to gather feedback on your videos, gauge their effectiveness, and get ideas for new videos to create.
See how comments appear on an actual video
You can enable or disable commenting at any time, choose whether or not comments are visible to other viewers, receive an email when new comments are posted, reply with a comment of your own, delete inappropriate comments, and more.
Many Screencast.com users have requested a way to get feedback on their videos...and we're happy to deliver! (For tips on using this new feature, watch the tutorial...)
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| Community: What do toasters, Camtasia Studio and SCORM have to do with each other? |
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For those of you using Camtasia Studio and an LMS, SCORM can help automate the quiz score reporting process and save you from having to manually input all the scores.
There are three pieces to the SCORM pie: the sharable content object (SCO), the application program interface (API) and the learning management system (LMS). I know that is a plethora of accronyms...but bear with me here. The Lsquared Math blog does a nice job of breaking down these different parts and explaining how they work together:
"SCORM which stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model is simply a set of standards that Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Content Developers can adhere to in order to make their stuff communicate with each other. It is analogous to a company that makes toasters making sure that their plugs fit into the electrical outlet. The toaster itself would be the learning object or more specifically the sharable content object (SCO), the plug would be like the javascript that communicates with the outlet or application program interface (API). The power company (LMS) is in charge of the outlets (APIs) and the content developer is in charge of the javascript. As the owner of the toaster or the purchaser of a SCO, you expect that if you move or change LMSs, your toaster or SCO will still work in the new environment. In other words in the new town, you don't have to get all of your appliances fitted with a new plug to work with the outlets used in that town. This is the power of SCORM," says Laura Shears, writer of the Lsquared Math blog.
With Camtasia Studio, the quiz scores are the SCO, they are "sent" to the LMS via the javascript that is automatically created by Camtasia Studio (the API). Your LMS can then interpret the javascript and display student scores in the grade book.
How does Camtasia Studio work with SCORM?
Quizzing in Camtasia Studio can produce SCORM-compliant scores which can be setup to automatically track student activity in Blackboard and other LMS'. Quiz scores can be reported as well as if students completed a video. If you are already using Camtasia Studio to create teaching videos and using quizzing, SCORM can save you the hassle of manually inputting scores into the LMS.
Camtasia Studio supports both SCORM 1.2 and 2004.
Richard Campbell, a customer who is currently using Camtasia Studio and Blackboard, was kind enough to share a video of how to enable SCORM in Camtasia Studio and also shows the steps necessary in Blackboard. The video runs about 10 minutes, but the SCORM information is covered in the first 4 minutes.
Are you using SCORM and Camtasia Studio? Please let me know. I think this topic deserves more than one article because of its complexity, but will only do that if you are interested. |
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Want to post a group of photos, screen captures, or other graphics to your website?
SnagIt makes it easy! Simply use the Create a Web Page feature to generate a page of thumbnails linked to full-sized images...ready for uploading to the website of your choice.
We even give you seven different customizable themes to choose from!
Jump to the tutorial to get started...
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Creating your first recording |
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Matt Pierce, Training Manager |
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If you're using Screencast.com, here's a quick primer to get you started with the new commenting feature.
A couple of key points: Commenting is off by default, so if you would like to use comments, you'll need to turn the feature on.
You can control whether you're notified of new comments or not. You can remove comments, and then if you need, reinstate them.
And finally, you and your viewers can have an RSS feed for the comments. |
See how to use Screencast.com Commenting |
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Camtasia Studio
Recording and Presentation
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SnagIt
Screen Capture and Sharing
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Screencast.com
Media Hosting
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