Meet Rob Zdrojewski. He's a Technology Teacher and Director at Amherst Central Schools in New York. In those parts he's also known as Rob Z. a.k.a. the "King of Jing", but he's also involved with many projects and technologies. One you might want to check out is Amherst Tech TV!

Recently Rob had small groups of students use Jing in conjunction with an IPEVO webcam. (This is similar to a document camera or ELMO if you are familiar with those.) The students reviewed a piece of educational software for mobile devices.

The camera uses a USB cable and displays the iPhone (or Blackberry) on the computer monitor. The students record the computer screen and thereby capture the device's screen.

I thought the quality of the webcam was outstanding, and I thought Rob had a creative idea here. I could see recording paper documents and giving feedback, drawn math problems, specimens in biology, and so on.

Great work students! Here's one example below. And you can view all of them in Rob's Screencast.com folder. I think I'm going to get a couple of these for my kids to use!

One question we get a lot around here is, "How do you make your video tutorials on the Learning Center?"

Jing works great for informal "one off" screencasts, and with a script and enough takes you can create a fairly polished video. However, even the Jing Learning Center videos aren't made with Jing. We need to utilize the editing capabilities in Camtasia. If this is something you're interested in, Ryan Eash--the person who makes all the Camtasia Studio videos--recently put together a comprehensive video showing his process. It's filled with tips and has a Table of Contents so you can jump to the part you're interested in.

Watch it here.

Sometimes we work with teachers who are having their students create screencasts with Jing or Camtasia. Here's a list of tips we've collected. Feel free to add or debate!

Scripting is an important part of the multimedia creation process. When used in conjunction with a well-designed storyboard, a good script can spell the difference between a short, clear and concise video and one that rambles and loses focus.

• Keep each page of the script equal to about one minute of content
• Use a large, easy to read font.
• When recording, don't stray from what you've written in the script.
• As you script, be sure to note what is happening in the video, podcast or presentation at the time you are speaking.
• Use contractions. It sounds better when speaking.
• Keep your tone conversational, and make sure it reflects your personality. This will help keep people interested.
• Write in a manner that allows you to bring in images, graphs, charts or humor to keep the video interesting and fun to watch.
• Break your projects up into short, easy-to-follow pieces.
• Keep asking yourself: is this essential? Could I cut this, or make it shorter while still achieving my goals?
• Read the script out loud before you record it to make sure it flows well and sounds correct. Also, send it to someone else for review whenever possible.
• Be consistent when using I, you, past and present tense.
• Identify one to three things (goals) you want your viewer to leave with.
• Every video or podcast should have some kind of introduction and closing. Typically you introduce yourself and briefly set the viewers' expectations about what they will be learning. Remember, your introduction is your first impression, so put some effort into making it great!
• Not sure about a particular section? Record both versions now and decide later.

Scripts don't need to be fancy. Here's what one of ours looks like: