Screencasting

This was my first time creating a screencast video review. I thought the whole process behind it was fairly simple. However like any software I download from the internet, I was hesitant because I worry about viruses and Trojans. Despite my worry, I couldn’t find an alternative solution so I downloaded Jing and began to record my video. What I found difficult about this project was timing. The issue with the site that I chose was that the hyperlinks were taking me forever to download. My solution for this problem was to click the link 3-4 seconds before I wanted to go on that page. It was a bit of a hassle, because it took me a few tries to record and get it right. I ended up rerecording my video for about 20 minutes, but I worked around it as best as I can. Although I wished there wasn’t so much lag in this video, I am still happy with my results. After I made my video, I embedded it onto my WordPress blog. All I did was copy the link from Dropbox and pasted it on here!

I’m not sure when I will ever have the need to create a screencast video. I think a screen capture will be of more use to me. I know for my internship when I had to make a PowerPoint to teach someone how to use a program or fix an issue, the screenshot became an invaluable tool. Screencast would definitely be of use in an online class. I think it’s great to use for recording PowerPoint presentations. I personally believe screencast is great for creating tutorials; sometimes words are not enough. Using a visual accompanied with writings can be an effective method for teaching someone how to use a program or even how to solve a math problem!

On the whole, this assignment was interesting. I do hope to be able to use this program in the future.

Checkout my screencast! 

Audio Track

The last time I ever created an audio track was for my marketing class in High School. For that particular assignment I had to create a commercial and even then I remembered I was frustrated and confused. It took a lot of effort but I managed to finish my commercial. I had hope I would be able to naturally recall what I learned four years ago and transfer it into this project.

My first step was to figure out what software to use. Unfortunately, I was quickly aware that I did not remember a single thing from my marketing assignment. I am completely and utterly out of my element. What do I do when I need answers? I go straight to Google! That search led me to “Free Audio Editor.” I proceeded to download the file with caution and find some YouTube videos I could convert to MP3. The songs that I chose was “2NE1 – I Don’t Care (Instrumental)” and “Park Bom – Don’t Cry (Instrumental).” From there, it was time to figure out how Free Audio Editor actually works. I began playing around and tried to overlap the music. The most challenging part was figuring out where to cut/paste the music in order to make the smoothest transition. That took a bit of trial and error but I eventually completed the task!  Next, I added my introduction and I assumed I was all set. However to my disappoint when I played the audio track, I realized the background music was too loud. This was the part where I face palmed and realized the magical tool that is the fade in/fade out effect. I used this tool in the middle and end of my audio track. Within a few more tries, my audio file was complete and I was ready to export it onto my blog.

I recalled the Professor provided the class with a useful tip to use Dropbox. I created an account, upload the file, and copied the link. It’s a great application to use and I certainly see that I can also use it outside of class!

Overall, this assignment was definitely more difficult than Pixlr. I don’t see myself creating an Audio Track in the future or my professional career, but it was a great learning experience.