Snagit
Name of Tool | Website URL | Cost | Download or Web-based | 1 sentence description of the tool |
Snagit | 49.95 | Download | Snagit is a screen casting/editing application. |
Description of the Tool
Snagit was created in 1990 as a screen casting and editing software application. It can be used to take screenshots of whatever you can see on your computer screen. Snagit also allows you to take video and record your voice. I can program keyboard shortcuts for myself while using Snagit and I can also follow links in webpages. Snagit also makes editing pictures very easy, with the filters and tools that it offers. I will now like to get into how Snagit allows us to perform all these features.
How to Use this Tool
This graphic is exactly what the home navigation looks like for Snagit. As you can see there are a lot of features that we can play with and use to better our editing and screen casting experiences. I have already customized some hotkeys for capturing and grabbing text. You can choose how you would like to make your screenshot selection, what effects you can make to the screenshot and where to share it to by clicking on these tabs.
Snagit makes capturing a screenshot very easy. All you must do is click the big red button that says capture. You will receive a set of yellow cross hairs that you can drag across any screen or picture that you would like to capture and edit. There are many ways to edit your capture using the different tools that are offered. You can do this after you use the crosshairs to select what you want to capture. I chose to capture a picture of a German Shepherd. The following images will be what the crosshairs look like being dragged over a picture and the other will be the editing screen right after the capture.
When you arrive at the editing screen the possibilities are endless. You can photoshop different aspects of the picture and add text. Stamps can be added to emphasize certain points of the screenshot. You can crop out any part of the screenshot for moving and editing. One of my favorite parts is the ability to save the edited screenshot and the ability to share it to social media. This can all be done by clicking on the tabs on the top of the screen and right above the screenshotted photo. The editing bar looks like this:
Fortunately, the screenshot editing doesn’t end there. I mentioned filters earlier and that is one of the cool and easy ways to change the look of your screenshot or picture. In the next image that I plan to share, there will be many more options to edit your image. Borders and frames can be included, and the edges can be distorted and played with as well. This can all be done by clicking the effects tab as shown in the image below.
As I mentioned previously, sharing is probably my favorite features that Snagit offers. Sure, it’s cool to create masterpieces for yourself, but I am way more into sharing it with my peers. I enjoy the feedback that comes with it and it helps me figure new ways to make my images appealing to everyone. Snagit makes sharing extremely easy. There are two ways to share and the locations are in the image below.
Another great part about Snagit is the ability to take any picture in your computer’s library. You can upload a picture from your camera or from social media and use all the editing tools that Snagit has to offer. It doesn’t have to be a Snagit captured image. It can be any image you want. GIF’s are very new and popular today and Snagit allows you to edit those as well. You can reach all your photos by clicking the library tab in the top left corner as shown in the picture below.
Snagit simplifies recording videos in a very easy and understandable way. You can record video of whatever is on your screen. You also have the ability to record your voice along with the video providing whatever commentary you like. There is also an option to use a webcam to record yourself. All these tools are a great resource for wanting to accomplish anything online. All of this can be done by selecting the video button below.
Recording videos is very similar to capturing a screenshot. Once you hit the red capture button, you will then be prompted to choose what part of the screen you would like to record by using the same yellow crosshairs that we used to capture a screenshot. After you choose, a small utility bar will appear above or below the section of your choice. This bar will give you the option to use webcam, turn on and off the mic, and pick the dimensions. I chose to record a deer, as shown below.
How Can This Tool be Used by the Teacher/Trainer?
So, those are a few ways to navigate Snagit. I would like to talk about how this tool could be used by a trainer or a teacher. A teacher could use Snagit very easily to teach a web-based course. It’s evident that similar applications are used to go over learnings and teach new concepts through many of the online courses that I have taken. I know I respond better to seeing a face and hearing a voice. Snagit allows to teacher to do both. For example: An instructor could show the class how to create a Twitter by recording herself creating a Twitter.
A workout trainer could do something very similar. Let’s say this trainer is too old to perform many of the workouts that he wants to teach his class. He could do his research online about how to do a perfect jumping jack. Using Snagit, he can record a video providing commentary on his research and graphics. That video could then be pulled up on a projector or monitor for the class to see.
How Can This Tool be Used by the Teacher/Trainer to Support Student Learning
Snagit can be used to support student learning. I find the application amusing and I used to be someone that always wanted to learn how to edit and make videos. I will certainly use Snagit in the future and I believe that the excitement of learning this tool will have the same effect on other students. If teachers encouraged their students to use this application in assignments, I believe that students will turn in better assignments and give comprehensive feedback. Video and graphics are probably the most effective way to learn something. Snagit is everything in one and has helped support my learning by the tools and capabilities that it provides.
I would love to see instructors use Snagit to provide feedback on essays, quizzes, and assignments. The standard way of providing feedback on a web-based course is a small paragraph or two. We could improve the way we teach by submitting a personal recorded video that outlines every way we could work on bettering our assignments. Our essay could be brought up on the screen and constructive commentary could be provided on every detail of the paper. The instructor could talk about what they liked and didn’t like. Grammatical errors could be circled with commentary on how to improve. This would be a little more time consuming, but the personalized videos would be very supportive.
How Can This Tool be Used by Students
Students can benefit from using Snagit. I have learned a lot by playing with this application. I can demonstrate that I have learned a concept or how to navigate social media by creating a video and submitting it to my instructor. I remember in math class that providing an answer to a math problem was insufficient. The teacher wanted us to write out every step on how we came up with our answers. This proved that we understood the concept and we were ready to move on to the next subject. What if students used Snagit in a similar way? The teacher could rest assure that the students understood the topic if the student submitted a video demonstrating that he did.
Another more obvious way that Students can use Snagit is by utilizing the editing and photoshop capabilities. Let’s say I needed to give a PowerPoint presentation in front of the class about a certain subject. I would use Snagit to capture all the images I needed and send the edited pictures to a PowerPoint slide. This would ensure that I am comfortable with my finished product because I edited every aspect of the image. Snagit is a great tool for both teachers and students. Here are some tutorials for additional knowledge about the application:
References
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