CamtasiaĬamtasia is made by the same company as Snagit and offers a big step up in video creating and editing capabilities while still remaining quite easy to use. Snagit enables you to show a zoomed in view of part of your image. This is installed software (as opposed to Web-based) that works on both Macs and PCs. For video, Snagit provide simple tools for editing the length of your video and cutting out unwanted parts. It also has a very nice “magnifying glass features that enable you to zoom in on a specific part of an image. It gives you tools to easily mark up your still images with text and graphics (e.g., arrows) that can help you explain whatever is going on in the image to your learners. Snagit is a simple but powerful tool meant both for capturing still images from your computer screen and for recording videos.

If you do need it, check out Camtasia below).Ī great thing about Screencast-O-Matic is that it works on all your devices. About the only thing it lacks is the ability to export to SCORM (which you won’t really need if you are inserting your videos into a course authoring tool.

Best of all, you can get started with a free plan. It’s web-based, so it works on pretty much any computer and you can host your files on Screencast-O-Matic or export them to wherever you like. Here are the top options I recommend for online course creators: Screencast-O-Maticįor all around, affordable screencasting software that also gives you great abilities to take, edit, and manage screenshots, Screencast-O-Matic is a top choice. I tend to prefer them for video editing, in most cases, over more complicated tools like Adobe Premier or even iMovie. The more sophisticated screencasting software – like Screencast-O-Matic, Camtasia and Screenflow – offer some really nice video editing capabilities. It can also be a great way to navigate through slides and narrate your presentation. You can also record yourself through your Webcam and easily switch back and forth between you talking and whatever you are showing on your screen.Īll of this can be a fantastic way to create video tutorials in which your learners how to use a specific type software or a Web site. The basic idea is that you can video record anything that appears on your computer screen along with any relevant audio – including your own voice. Screen recording software – also referred to as screencasting software – can be one of the most useful tools there is when you want to create an online course or tutorial, produce marketing videos, or simply want a great, visual way to explain pretty much anything that you are able to view on your computer screen.

Snagit vs camtasia reddit