5 Reasons Teachers Should Screencast

Screencasting is a tool that every teacher NEEDS to utilize in their classroom.  There are many reasons to use screencasting with your students.  If you do not know how to screencast, check out my Screencasting page on my Tech Nerd Training website to find out how. 

1. Flipping Your Classroom - You don't have to flip your entire classroom every lesson of every day.  There may be times where it makes sense to have your students listen to a 5-10 minute video of a lecture at home so you have an entire period to do an activity in class.  Screencast your lesson for that day and have your students watch it as homework.  You will have an "extra" class period now to have your students SHOW you what they have learned.
2. Missing Students - Screencasts are great to have on hand if you have students who miss an important lesson.  It is especially helpful when you know you are going to have many students absent on a particular day.  You can have a lesson prepared for students who miss class because of sports or school activities.  Then you don't have to catch up a bunch of people. 
3. Review - Screencasts are great for students to go back and review concepts they are not proficient on. If you have a website full of screencasts, you can tell students to go to your website and review that particular concept and then come back and try it again.  It helps keep the students responsible for their learning.
4. Sub Plans - Sub plans have never been easier than with a screencast.  If your students have their own devices, it can be a day they go at their own speed and follow along with the screencast and then complete whatever assignment or practice you have for them. Or, if your students don't have their own devices, your sub can show your screencast to the class and continue from there.  The days of showing a movie because you don't think the sub will be able to teach your content are over. 
5. Tutorials - If you have a new tool you want students to use, you can create a tutorial so if they don't remember what you told them to do, they can go back and watch tutorials to discover the next step needed for that tool.  You can also have tutorials on how to create foldables, and art projects.

    * Bonus Reason to Screencast *
When students see the screencasts created by the teacher, they always want to create their own. Students can create screencasts to show you what they know.  They could complete a worksheet, but it will mean more to your students, and you will know for sure that they know what you want them to, if students create screencasts to explain the content to you.