This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning (view other articles in the series).  We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective.

Screenshots are a way of taking a picture of what is currently on your computer screen.  However you don’t need a camera to take the picture: your computer will generate one for you. Screenshots are sometimes referred to as screen captures, screen dumps, screen grabs, or print screen.

Sample Windows screenshot

To create a screenshot of your computer screen when using Windows, all you have to do is push the Print Screen button, which is normally in the top right area of your keyboard. You can also create a screenshot of only the current window but holding Alt and pressing the Print Screen button.

After you have created the screenshot, you need to paste it into a programme like Powerpoint, Word or Paint to see it.  You can then edit the image inside that programme.

Most smartphones will also allow you to take a screenshot as well.  The exact method for doing so depends on your device, and we recommend searching on the internet for instructions on how to take one.

Screenshots are useful for both explaining things and troubleshooting problems. If you want your students to learn how to use a specific piece of software, then creating screenshots for that software will help make the instructions more clear to the students.  Similarly, when you have an issue with Blackboard, you can look up the answer in our staff e-learning knowledge base, which has step-by-step articles with screenshots.

When you (or your students) encounter problems using pieces of software or websites such as Blackboard, it can be helpful to create a screenshot.  That screenshot can be sent to the appropriate support people to help them understand what you are seeing and enable them to resolve your query faster.

For more detailed instructions and a video about screenshots, see the e-bytes article Point and Click.