Hello, my name is Dave McCollom and I'll be running things around here. This is my first go as a blogger (other than a guest post here and there) and I plan on taking a somewhat non-traditional approach. The primary goal for this blog is to provide a home for stories and examples of how educators are using TechSmith products. As opposed to the 'one to many' nature of most blogs, I liken my role here more to that of a DJ - but instead of music I'll be spinning classroom lectures, presentations, tutorials, etc that have been created by you. Beyond that I also hope to provide insight into what is going on here at TechSmith, information about conferences and events, opportunities to interact with other educators, and some tips on other technologies that compliment TechSmith products.
So that's our plan at the moment, but the great thing is that the real future here is wide open. I'd love to hear how you think this space could be used in the future. If you have any feedback, please feel free to post your suggestions in the comments below.
This blog launch also coincides with the launch of a whole new page of resources for educators. The new education community page follows the same theme as this blog - to make it easier for you to find stories and examples of other educators using TechSmith products. This page also features a section with tutorials to help you implement what you learn. These tutorials differ from our learning center tutorials in that they are not just 'not to use the software' but instead the context for how to use it to enhance your classroom. Check out this quick screencast tour of the new site:
Thanks for stopping by to check things out. My next post will be from the NECC conference in Washington, DC. Please swing over and say hello if you plan on attending. We'll be in booth #1746 - more details coming soon!
Hi Dave,
So glad to see you get your own bully pulpit at Techsmith.com! Can't wait to see you again in San Diego for some more great BBQ at Phils!
I'm especially interested in seeing how other educators are using Camtasia & Jing. We use these products daily and are always looking for new ideas. To contribute, our latest application for Camtasia is as the post-production tool for our desktop video studio that we've set up to help tech-averse faculty produce video learning objects. We drop the video into Camtasia for editing (if needed), captioning and rendering into Flash. Here's our little promo for the system:
http://online2.sdccd.edu/pvs/pvs_intro_2_overlay/pvs_intro_2_overlay.html
Thanks for doing this! Your blog's on my list of sites to check daily now.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Great to see a Blog to link into education and what powerful resources these tools can be. One of the most amazing things I find as I go around presenting PD is the huge number of teachers and students that have never heard of Jing or camtasia. I particularly like Jing for its simplicity an everytime I show it people just love it and I spend about 30 mins on the use and application. One thing - is it possible or is there any thought to providing a free Jing Education version - with pro features and even an education focused site for videos? You could set up a program based on social networks to watch the spread of the tool in education.
I look forward to seeing things develop on the site.
Regards
Tony
Dave and Tony - Thanks so much for being the first commenters on the new blog!
Dave - Your comment is exactly the kind of thing that we're looking to do quick posts about. We can chat when I return to get home from NECC to get your ideas moved up 'above the fold!'
Tony - First of all thanks for the shirt (we'll get some pictures for you soon)! Great feedback on Jing - we're definitely very early in the evolution of Jing (and screencast.com) in education and will continue to keep tweaking it to make it more useful and accessible for all educators. Missed you at NECC this year, and will have to make up for it by heading down to Australia to say hello.
-Dave
Hi Dave, I lecture in HE in the UK and I've just started using Camtasia for creating instructional videos for staff and informative videos for students. My colleagues find Camtasia really confusing so I'd be interested in anything that makes it easier to use. They love SnagIt.
I'll be presenting at the Council for Economic Education conference in Washington. I will be showing how to use the FRED data base and have used Camtasia in some of my instruction. I'll stop by and say "hi". When educators find this product, they will find that learning is faster and learned to a higher degree. Thanks for beginning this blog.
Hi Dave,
I wanted to publicly thank you for adding this Education section. I know you are aware of how much my students and I use and love Camtasia Studio (as well as Jing and Snagit).
TechSmith is so in touch with their users. Thank you again for offering us this Education Community Blog.
Thanks Eric! Teachers (and students) like you (and your students) are what will make this site valuable to others. We hope we can be another platform to spread the word about all the great stuff you guys are doing!