Jing

After reading Hutchinson & Colwell Chapter 5 this week, I decided to explore a few of the tools that were listed as resources in the chapter, but hadn't been discussed in depth. One of the tools is Jing, a free download which enables you to take screenshots of your computer screen, but you can also video record your computer screen and narration to go along with what you are showing on the screen.

In the chapter, the authors discuss using audio recording tools as a way for teachers to review student work and rather than providing lengthy written feedback, they can record their oral feedback on the work and use their mouse to point to different things on the screen. I think this tool could be particularly helpful when teachers need to provide feedback on non-traditional types of assignments, like jpeg images, presentations, or digital storybooks. The teacher can just talk through their comments as if they were discussing with the student, and it may even enable them to give more feedback because they don't have to spend time writing it all out.

Students can also use this tool - they can provide oral feedback on other students work, or use it respond to digital texts they are reading, or other materials they find on the internet.

One non-conventional use that I can see for this tool is creating tutorials. When I complete my M.A. in Educational Technology, I want to use my degree as a technology consultant in a school, helping teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and curriculums. I think this tool would be a great resource for me - I can use it to record demonstrations of different technology tools in education and create tutorials for teachers. I think it would be really helpful, since many teachers don't use technology because they don't understand it, are scared to try it, or don't have the time. Having a video tutorial - and not just a generic one from the internet, but one from someone who works at their school and knows their system - could be a game changer to get them to try integrating technology into a lesson.

References:
Hutchison, A., & Colwell, J. (2015). Bridging technology and literacy: developing digital reading and writing practices in grades K-6. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Share Ideas Instantly with Jing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2017, from https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html