Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Tech Talks Episode 05: Creating Tutorials with Snagit


Episode 05 of Tech Talks explores that dilemma we face when trying to explain something better. Sometimes textual instructions just aren't enough. That's where using a screenshot and/or screencasting tool comes in handy. The online tool that I have grown fond of is Snagit. While I have been using Snagit to make the episodes of Tech Talks, I did have to use a different screencasting program for a portion of this episode in order to demonstrate Snagit.

The cool thing about Snagit is that it connects with Google Drive to save your screenshots and screencasts in a folder in Drive. The screenshot images can be added to Google Docs or Slides (or emailed) to demonstrate a task, or the screencast video can be shared from a Drive folder, embedded on a website, or uploaded to YouTube. Not only is making visual tutorials handy for teachers, but making tutorials is an excellent demonstration tool for students. Outside of school projects, the tool is also a great way to capture or explain an error that is occurring on your computer so tech support better understands your issue. A win-win all around.