Creating and Publishing Custom-Made Multimedia Screen Presentations

Abstract

Camtasia Studio 4.0. 2006. Developed by TechSmith Corporation, 2405 Woodlake Drive, Okemos, MI 48864-5910. Single-user license of Camtasia Studio 4.0 for education costs $179. For complete pricing and ordering information contact sales at http://www. techsmith.com. System requirements: Minimum 1 GHz processor (2.5 GHz is strongly recommended for PowerPoint[R] recordings) Minimum 500 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended) Windows-compatible sound card, microphone and speakers are recommended Program installation takes up 60 MB of hard-disk space Camtasia Studio supports Microsoft Windows 2000/XP with Microsoft DirectX 9 or later. The Camtasia Studio add-in for PowerPoint[R] requires Office 2000/ XP or later For an up-to-date listing of system requirements, visit the TechSmith Web site at www.tech smith.com. Camtasia Studio 4.0 is a complete software package for the production of multimedia screen videos. It is well designed and provides a greater variety of features than previous versions while it has become easier to use. The high-quality custom videos can be played back on the Internet, CD-ROM, and mobile media players, such as a Video iPod. The software allows the user to record and edit PowerPoint[R] presentations, various audio tracks, and videos to create amazing interactive videos, screencasts, and presentations that are useful to educators. Other options include picture-in-picture format for capturing video from a webcam that is synchronized with the screen recordings and screen drawings with effects, such as highlighting cursor movements and drawing on the screen. The software combines verbal and textual information into videos, which has been shown to significantly increase student understanding and memory of the concepts being presented. Camtasia Studio 4.0 can be used to create instructional supplements for advanced students who need more challenge, and also to offer additional help to students who are failing behind. These supplements allow students to work at their own pace and review material multiple times. Teachers can embed quiz questions into the video content to assess student learning. Camtasia Studio 4.0 also helps instructors comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act regarding the designing and deploying of accessible information to breakdown delivery and learning barriers regardless of the student's capabilities. It is easy to get started with Camtasia Studio 4.0 and to successfully create multimedia presentations. Instructors can immediately record narrated presentations for student lectures by using the Recording Wizard with familiar Record, Pause, and Stop controls. I easily produced a PowerPoint[R] recording of a presentation on cellular respiration on my first attempt by doing the following steps: 1. Plug a microphone into the computer. 2. Start PowerPoint[R]. 3. Click on the record button in the toolbar to capture the screen video and audio. 4. Give presentation by speaking into the microphone and explaining the content of each slide. (I use cursor movements to direct the attention of the audience and with more advanced presentations I include video from a webcam and screen drawings as I give the presentation.) 5. Edit presentation if desired. 6. Use the simple Production Wizard to render screen video to the best format for viewing from Web, CD-ROM, or mobile media players. (It allows for many media formats, such as MP3, iPod video, Adobe Flash (SWF and FLV), AVI, WMV, QuickTime (MOV), RealMedia (RM), animated GIF, and even an executable (EXE) file.) 7. Upload video file to Screencast.com, personal or school Internet server, or burn onto CD-ROM for sharing. 8. Share the specific Internet address of the video on the Screencast.com site with the selected audience. Camtasia Studio 4.0 can be used not only for recording PowerPoint[R] presentations but also for creating training, instruction, and demonstrations of software applications. …