Screenshots, Screencasts, and Animated GIFs

This week,  Maureen Tumenas wrote to the Techy Coach asking what I use to make GIFs and Videos for my Tiny Tutorials.  Over the years, I have found that teachers attending PD training want two things:

• Step by Step Instructions
• Visuals in the form of Screenshots or Animations

Being a visual person myself, I work best when I can see a process, better than if I were just to follow a set of instructions.  With that, I have worked to incorporate both video tutorials and Animated GIFs into my articles and posts.  There are some great tools out there.  In this article, I'll highlight the tools I use most, as well as a few others that are available to get the job done.

SnagIt by TechSmith

• This Chrome Extension from TechSmith is a great tool for grabbing Screenshots or recordings in the Chrome Browser.  You can also create Animated GIF Files from your Video recordings.  While this tool has been handy, it is soon being retired from TechSmith.  While they are retiring it, you can purchase the full version of SnagIt from their website and get more information about the retiring of this extension here.  Personally, I'll be sad to see this one go, as it is a great tool!  But the full version has more bells and whistles and is worth the purchase.

Camtasia by TechSmith

• Camtasia is a full featured tool that allows you to import audio, video, and images into a multi-track editing tool for the creation of studio-quality videos.  I use this for my Tiny Tutorials on YouTube and on the Techy Coach Blog.  This tool costs around $179.00 at the Education Price.  $299.00 for non-Education consumers.  I highly recommend this tool if you can afford it.

Photoshop

• If you have access to Photoshop, you can create Animated GIF files without having to find an alternate program or software. Just open PhotoShop, and follow the instructions in the video below.  This will only work with static images, but if you have screenshots or pics for each step of the process you are trying to provide instructions for, Animated GIFs can be just as handy as a video.  

Screencast - o - Matic

• If you're looking for a FREE tool to create screencasts, this is the one for you.  It works in browser, or you can download a launcher that allows you to record a screencast from your browser with audio.  

More Links for Animation and Video Tools

• Screencast.com - Free online service from TechSmith
• Jing - From TechSmith - captures short recordings or images or video. 

Gettin' Crafty with Class Announcements

A few weeks ago, I taught an intro course to our science faculty on Chromebooks.  The most popular Chrome Extension of the day was Crafty Text.  If you haven't seen this little gem, it is worth is weight in virtual gold.  Out of all the tools that we covered that day, this was the most popular hands down.  

What does it do?  

Let's frame it this way. If you've ever been in a computer lab with 30+ students, or say you have a class of kids with mobile devices, you'll love this.  Let's say that on the fly, you want them to go to a specific website.  If you try to tell them out loud, you have to repeat yourself a million times.  If you write it on the board, they either can't see it or can't read your writing.  And if they look on the screen, the URL is usually too small.

In comes Crafty Text.  This Chrome Extension sits on your browser toolbar, and allows you to post a banner of anything you type, on your screen.  

How does it work?

To use Crafty Text, just click on its icon in the extension bar.  A text box will open.  Type what you want your class to see in the banner, and hit Enter.  When done, click the icon again and your banner disappears.  It's that simple!

What else can it do?

Well, it is a pretty simple tool, but the applications are endless.  Crafty Text can be used for:

• Simple instructions
• Bell Ringer Activities
• Share a Web Address
• Post a Password to Google Classroom

With the latest release of this Chrome Extension, there are more options: 

• Adapt Text Size

• If you have text that you don't want to wrap in your banner, and it needs to appear on one line, check the Adapt Text Size box.  

• Show Suggestions

• If you have previously typed a message on Crafty Text, and type it again, it will show a suggestion from previous entries.

3 Ways to Optimize Chrome for Better Browsing

Sometimes when browsing the web, people get so wrapped up in work that they soon lose track of sites they've visited.  If you're like me, you often visit so many sites looking for information that is easy to  confuse one page with another when you need to go back to that one nugget of wisdom you need as a reference.  Sure, you can always go back and sift through your browser history, but there is a much simpler way to organize your research.

Bookmarks
Now I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't always a fan of bookmarks.  Whether it was Internet Explorer, Safari, or Netscape Navigator (Whoa! That's a throwback), I just didn't like bookmarks.  But with Chrome, the Bookmarks Bar makes it easy to keep track of your pages.  

First let's talk about how to bookmark a page.  To Bookmark any page on Chrome, click the Star at the end of the Omnibox (URL address bar).  A popup box will open where you can name your bookmarked link.  

Once you've click Done, your Bookmark will appear on your Bookmarks bar.  Can't see your Bookmarks Bar?  Click on Settings>Bookmarks>Show Bookmarks Bar.

If you get too many bookmarks on your Bookmarks Bar, there are a few solutions.  

• First, you can right click on any Bookmarked page and choose Rename.  You can change the name of any bookmark to whatever you want.  I often will use acronyms or initials so I can fit more bookmarks on the bar.  

• Second, you can right click on the bookmarks bar and choose Add Folder to create a folder for all of you links.  I organize mine into categories such as Work, School, Church, PD, etc...

Startup Pages (Home Pages)
Do you have a number of websites that you visit every day for work or school that you access frequently?  Rather than bookmark them and open them every day, why not set them as your Startup Page.  To set a Home Page on Chrome, click on Settings.  In the On Startup section, choose Set Pages.  If you already have your preferred pages/tabs open on your browser, you can choose Use Current Pages.  Then click OK.  From there forward, Chrome will open to the tabs you have saved as Startup Pages.

Save to Google
Finally, another option for optimizing browsed sites is the Save to Google extension.  This Chrome Extension allows you to quickly and easily save pages for later viewing.  This is great if you are researching a project and need to file away a page for later.  It's also great as an alternative to Bookmarks, if you are a visual person.  The extension is available in the Chrome Web Store.  Once installed, you simply click on the extension when visiting any page you want to save.  You can also add Tags to your saved pages.  

When you're ready to view your saved pages, go to http://www.google.com/save.  Your saved pages appear as tiles.  Want to view one?  Click on it and view info on your page.  Click again to visit it.  View your pages by Tags, by clicking on the menu at the top left, and choosing a tag.

Google Keep Users - A Chrome Extension Just for YOU!

If you are a Google Keep user, it seems that Google is doing all it can to make this tool more robust and meaningful.  And I have to say, I like this latest development.  Last week, Google updated the Google Keep Chrome Extension so that you can more easily add URLs, images, etc... as notes to your Google Keep page. 

Once installed, simply click the icon in your Extensions bar, and leave a note regarding that page.  You can also add a Tag to the item to organize it along with your over saves.

Your new saved item is automatically added as a note in Keep.  

Visit the page again, and the Keep Extension recognizes you've been there before, as it shows the Keep icon in Yellow.  Any new notes you add for the same site, become part of the same note!

Happy Browsing, Note-Takers!

New Look for the Techy Coach Blog

Over the weekend, I spent a little time updating the Techy Coach Blog to give it a more user friendly look and feel.  You'll now notice that instead of the 20+ buttons at the top of the page,  you can access my video tutorials by topic.  Each topic has a drop-down list of subjects you can choose from to get help using Google Apps and Tools.



Also, don't forget, you can access Techy Coach Tutorials any time using the Techy Coach Chrome Extension.  Now you can access tutorials through a popup window, allowing you to work while you learn.  

Topics available through the extension include:

• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Forms
• Google Slides
• Google Drawings
• Google Classroom
• Gmail
• Google Calendar

Just go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Techy Coach.  You can also use this direct link.

Boomerang - Email Now or Later

Sometimes in my busy week, I get bogged down by the amount of emails I have to send.  With one specific aspect of my job, I have to send out daily reminders by email to students.  This usually consists of a message reminding students of organizational meetings, or messages stating that they missed a meeting.  As a result, it is a daily occurrence, and usually takes up some of my time each morning to send them out.  

Now don't get me wrong, I already do several things to pare down this task, such as sending mass emails using Google Groups, or Canned Responses (A lab in Gmail that allows you to create pre-formatted responses or messages).  I also use Remind to send out mass Text Messages.  But sometimes, it is still necessary to send out a daily email.  

My solution, and one of the best extensions I have found recently, is Boomerang for Gmail.  This service allows users to send any message later, or remind you of any message in your inbox by returning it to the top of your inbox at a later date.

Send Later

Once you install Boomerang,  you get an extra button on your Compose screen.  This Send Later button allows you to choose a date and time for which you can send  your email message.  This means I can compose all my reminders for the week, and send them out at different times of the week all at once.  This frees me up to do other tasks Tuesday through Friday, because all my reminder work has been done up front!

Return to Inbox

Got a message that you just don't have time to read or respond to, but its still important?  You can use Boomerang to return it to the top of your inbox later!  Just open the message and click the Boomerang Icon at the top of the message window.

You can then choose when you want your message to return.  Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months - the choice is yours.  This option has proven handy when a message comes through on a Friday afternoon, or when I'm in the middle of a big project and need to redirect my attention to the message later.  Its been a big lifesaver.

Give it a try in the Chrome Webstore and see if it helps you!