Screentoaster and Youtube

Screencasting is a tool that I have used for several years. I used jing project for many screencasts and really enjoyed using it. I found staying within the allotted time to be difficult so I began researching other screencasting tools. One tool that I investigated was screentoaster.com. I like this tool. It is not as dynamic as jing, but it is free (unlike similar software like camtasia), user friendly, and for projects that do not need alot of editing, gets the job done. I love screencasting in education. It allows teachers to solve math equations, break down sentence structure, and create tutorials on almost any subject from the comfort of their desk.
To use screentoaster one simply has to visit screentoaster.com, create an account and begin recording. Storage space is provided at no cost. When a user has recorded any desired material they can upload it to screentoaster for a URL or get an embeddable HTML code that can be used on many websites. The only tools really needed are a laptop, screencasting software, and a noise reducing microphone. It is important to utilize a mic to help minimize as much background noise as possible. I have run into many issues with this even using the mic. My recommendation is to find a space that is as quite as possible and simply do the best you can.
Screentoaster is another tool that is perfect for knowledge sharing. You can send your link to others or they can visit your website to receive information that is being projected. Videos/screencasts created on screentoaster are taggable. You can also attach them to a specific category to help accommodate searching. This helps ensure that your message gets out to people who need it and whom you will never meet.
This can be a very powerful tool teachers can use to create tutorials to add to their web pages or CMS sites. Students should also be allowed in the creation process. About two years ago I attended the Boston Learning Confrence which is a product of November Learning. There a math teacher brought several of his students and demonstrated the way the more advanced students created tutorials for the other students. It was amazing to see how involved the students were in this process. I hope to implement this to a large degree during the upcoming school year.
I used this in conjunction with youtube which is another site for video sharing and searching. First I created the video in screentoaster and then shared it to youtube where people can either subscribe or simply access since I made it public. To see an example of this please visit