Screencasts, Instagram, and Flipagram

First of all, I LOVE ALL of these apps and programs.  I had a really hard time deciding which one was my favorite.

Instagram:
I have had a personal Instagram for a few years so that's kind of old hat for me but I had never really thought about it for school/library use.  A lot of teachers have it for their classes.  They post things that are going on in their classrooms and it is a private Instagram so only the parents in the class can see.  I created a library Instagram, followed some fellow libraries, public libraries, book publishers and authors, posted a few things, figured out how to add text, borders and stickers to my photos using an app called LiPix. It was a lot of fun. Here's a link to my library Instagram.   

Flipagram: 
Next, I created a Flipagram.  My own personal children have used this a bunch but I never had before.  I have a Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt Facebook group set up for the school.  This is my first year to do it and it has taken off like gang busters.  It is a private group so only the parents of students in our school can see it.  I made a Flipagram of a few of the photos that the students have been taking since school let out of them reading.  There are 25 different photos or videos that they are supposed to capture over the summer.  I included just a few of our photos.  I had so much fun creating this.  I do the Morning Announcements Broadcast for our school so I think I will share it with the whole school the first week, just to give them a little taste of what some of our students did while reading this summer.  Hopefully it will generate even more interest for participates each year.  In order to protect the privacy of my students I did not make my flipagram account public but I uploaded my flipagram to youtube as an unlisted video.

Here's the link to my Flipagram as a youtube video.

Screencast-o-matic:
Then there's Screencast-o-matic!  I am so glad to have this in my bag of tricks now.  I do a lot of technology based lessons.  Sometimes by the time I get to the end of the day, I have done the same lesson SO many times that I forget what I have told one group and think I have already told them and then when they get to their computers, I realize I skipped a step or some other nonsense like that.  With Screencast-o-matic I can present the lesson and then give them access to the tutorial again and again so that if they need to watch it again when they get to their computers or home they can.  What a great tool!  And I truly don't mind the price at all. I can definitely do $15/year.  It would be well worth the price to know that each and every student is getting the best of my tech lessons each time they come to the library. Plus the benefit of having access to the lesson after the fact makes it so worth it!

Here's the link to my Screencast-o-matic.  I did a 5 minute tutorial on how to search for biographies using our school's Destiny Discover link.

Jing:

I tried Screencast with Jing.  I have used Jing in the past simply for screen captures on my PC.  The screen capture on a Mac is super easy but not so much on a PC but  I never realized that Jing also captured video so that is awesome!  I do like Jing but I think I prefer Screencast-o-matic simply because it keeps the student's eyes focused on where your cursor is by placing the yellow circle around where it is on the screen.  I think that will make a huge difference for my Elementary students when watching or following a screencast.  I think with the 5 minute limit it would be fine for a book trailer or simple instruction or something like that.  

I created a Jing screencast for my Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt just so that I could so you all.  I have been trying to figure out a way to truly share this with you guys but can't because it is a private page so this was a great way to share it with you.  I uploaded it as an unlisted youtube video.  Check it out.  Jing.

So after reviewing all of these products, I have to say that my most favorite was Screencast-o-matic.  I see so many uses for this from showing my teachers how to do things to easily presenting lessons to my students.  This will definitely come in handy this next year!  I am truly excited to have added this program to my little bag of tricks.  I like that the annual subscription is only $/15 or $29 for 3 years.  The 15 minute time limit is much more doable than Jing's 5 minute limit.