There are a few screencasting tools available to us as SHU staff. Here is an overview of those tools followed by a comparison chart to help you choose the right tool for your needs.
Screencast-O-Matic.com Pro
For most screencasting needs at home or within the university Screencast-O-Matic.com (SOM) Pro is a good option as it is relatively easy to use and lets you capture anything on your screen with a voiceover plus any additional audio played during the screencast recording such as a YouTube clip (note: SOM Free does not support the recording of additional audio). We have some SOM Pro licences available for staff – find out how to access SOM Pro (staff login required).
You can find various SOM Help videos on the SOM website.
Editing a screencast recorded in SOM Pro (Blog post and how-to video)
Camtasia
Camtasia is installed on some on-campus computers and there are some licences available for staff machines that can be requested via ithelp@shu.ac.uk. Camtasia has many features such as ability to create quizzes and polling and can record additional audio played on your computer during the screencast recording (e.g. YouTube clips). When installed on your computer you will also find a Camtasia add-in for Powerpoint.
See the selection of Camtasia tutorials on the Camtasia website.
Office Mix
If you have a PowerPoint presentation that you would like to screencast, Office Mix is an option if you are off-campus and have Office 2013/6 installed. Find out how staff and students can install Office 365 at home for FREE (login required). Office Mix is a free add-in for PowerPoint 2013/6 and allows you to record your PowerPoint presentations.
Find out more about Office Mix on the website.
Comparing the tools
| Feature | SOM Free | SOM Pro | Office Mix | Camtasia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | Free to anyone | 100 licences available to staff for use on and off campus (find out how to access SOM Pro) | Free add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint 2013/6 (currently not available on-campus) | Limited availibility on-campus (search rooms at SHU) |
| Time limit | 15 mins | No* | No* | No* |
| Records system audio (e.g. YouTube video) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Requires installation on computer | No – can be used online | No – can be used online | Yes | Yes – some licences available via IT Help |
| Quiz / Poll | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Allows editing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Draw on screen | No | Yes | Yes | Yes – during post editing |
*Limited only by the available storage space on the computer