Camtasia

What is Camtasia?

Camtasia is a screen recorder and video editor that lets you record what’s on your screen, then turn your screen recording(s) into compelling videos using editing tools, animations, and effects. One new innovative feature of Camtasia is the ability to include “in-video quizzing” to see what your viewers have learned or get feedback on your content.

Similar to Screencast-O-Matic, Camtasia is great for demonstrations, webcam videos, or combination of both. Using a Camtasia for Education License (a free trial version is available), faculty can create recordings on their own computer, Mac or PC, edit as needed, and export transferable file formats for use as course materials in Canvas.

Examples of Camtasia Videos

 

The video above was recorded and produced using Camtasia to explain Cell Division, the making of two cells from one. Just from watching the first 45 seconds, you can get a taste of what can be achieved using Camtasia as your recording and editing tool. The faculty featured here used a powerpoint presentation as their storyboarding tool, and fully written script to capture great sounding audio, and an eye catching explanation of Cell Division. With the help of an instructional technologist at SPS, we created animations, which helped guide learning on this subject, and were the set-up for several in-video engagement prompts.

When should I use Camtasia?

Camtasia is an excellent tool for developing visual learning materials. Use it to make lessons and tutorials, and use the in-video quiz option to have students engage with the material in the moment.

If you are developing a course with SPS Distance Learning, use Camtasia only after you have developed a completed script and storyboard for your project.

How do I use Camtasia?

Guides

Camtasia is easy to install, quick to start, and offers excellent video tutorials and demonstrations for Mac and PC. To begin using Camtasia, visit Camtasia by Techsmith’s website and download the 30-Day Free Trial version for your Mac or PC. Set aside 10-15 minutes for this process, and use your @northwestern.edu address to register your trial.

When launching the software for the first time, you’ll be presented with a hands-on opportunity to test drive Camtasia using their pre-recorded Getting Started Project. Watching the tutorial straight through takes only six and a half minutes, but we recommend setting aside 20-30 minutes to engage in the interactive lesson. There’s no wrong way to use the software, and you can always revisit the Getting Started Project from Camtasia’s Help menu.

Faculty are welcome to schedule a screen-sharing meeting with your learning designer and instructional technologist for a set-up consultation and walk through. Plan to spend 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your comfort level.

Accessibility

Once your videos are produced and ready to share, work with your learning designer to prepare closed captioning files. If you scripted your recording, your learning designer and instructional technologist can convert your script into a caption file. Otherwise, your video will be processed with the help of our captioning service providers behind the scenes, and in a matter of days.