There are a few screencasting tools available to SHU staff. Here is an overview of the tools and 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 and is relatively easy to use. SOM Pro lets you capture anything on your screen with a voiceover and can record additional audio played during the screencast recording such as a video.
SOM Pro licences are available for staff (staff login required).
Editing a screencast recorded in SOM Pro (Blog post and how-to video)
You can find various SOM Help videos on the SOM website.
Camtasia
Camtasia has many features such as ability to create quizzes and polling and can record additional audio played during the screencast recording. There is also a Camtasia add-in available for PowerPoint.
Camtasia is available on-campus computers and there are some licences available for staff machines that can be requested via ithelp@shu.ac.uk.
See a selection of Camtasia tutorials on their website.
Comparing the screencasting tools
| Feature | SOM Free | SOM Pro | Camtasia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | Free to anyone | 100 licences available to staff for use on and off campus (find out how to access SOM Pro) | Limited availability on-campus (search rooms at SHU) |
| Time limit | 15 mins | No* | No* |
| Records system audio (e.g. videos, sound effects) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Requires installation on computer | No – can be used online | Yes | Yes – some licences available via IT Help |
| Quiz / Poll | No | No | Yes |
| Allows editing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Draw on screen | No | Yes | Yes – during post editing |
*Limited only by the available storage space on the computer