Evaluating Software: Screencast programs

Kristin StanleyEDIT 5395

General Informationand Type of License

Name: Kristin Stanley Institution: Angelo State University Department: Communication, Mass Media, and Theatre Software Programs Evaluated/Vendor:

Adobe CS4 Captivate/Adobe Camtasia Studio 6/TechSmith

Content Area: Communication Media Design and Development Education Level: Higher Education (sophomore)

Type of License: Site License for 20 faculty members of the department

Screencast Software

This presentation will review two Screencast programs: TechSmith Camtasia Studio

6Adobe Captivate 4

Adobe Captivate CS4 Features

Runs on both Windows and Mac platforms Captures high-quality video from the computer screen Record, Edit, Produce, and Share video Most common uses:

Creating demos for training Tutorials Quizzes and Testing and Presentations

Captivate System Requirements

Intel Pentium 4, Intel Centrino, or Intel Core Duo processor

Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1

512MB of RAM (1GB is recommended) 1.5GB hard-disk space and additional free space is

required during installation 800x600 screen resolution (1,024x768

recommended)

Adobe Captivate CS4

Pros ConsCompression: for smaller file sizes

Does not capture every move of the cursor or mouse - only captures the screen as your screen changes

Preset templates for presentations, tutorials, and quizzes and testing

Software taxes system resources

Functionality allowing user to create quizzes and testing

Not intuitive

Integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products

Expensive

Text to speech: script can be typed out – saving editing time (“ums”)

TechSmith Camtasia Studio 6 Features

Created for Microsoft Windows and TechSmith just released a version of Camtasia for Mac Captures high-quality video from the computer screen Record, Edit, Produce, and Share video Become your own producer! Most common uses:

Creating demos for training Tutorials and Presentations

Camtasia System Requirements

Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7

Microsoft DirectX 9 or later version 1.0 GHz processor minimum (2.0GHz

recommended) 500 MB RAM minimum (2.0GB recommended) 115 MB of hard-disk space for program installation

Camtasia Studio 6

Pros ConsCompression: for smaller file sizes

Software taxes system resources during Production phase

Records all movement of mouse and cursor

Does not include some of the features/bells and whistles that Captivate does

Files can easily be exported to other formats - .swf, .flv, .avi, mpg3

Comprehensive user guide sent to your email upon loading trial version

Includes a Power Point Toolbar Add-On for easy recording and production

Evaluation of Captivate from a Colleague (pg. 38 question) The biggest thing with captivate which I really

like is the ability to create demos and trainers.  So you can go through a software package or a procedure, say how you would compute mean, average, mode, standard deviation (basic stats) in excel and you can “walk” the student through via the demo and then you can turn the exact same demo into a trainer so the student has to “click” just like they were in the actual software program so they see how to do something, and then they are able to do it to facilitate learning.

Evaluation of Captivate from a Colleague continued on next slide

Evaluation of Captivate from a Colleague Cont. (pg. 38 question) Depending on the length of your movie (SWF) ,

they are sometimes very large and hard for students on slower connections to use.  You really need a streaming server or something similar to adobe connect to stream your vides for students unless you know the student is on a high speed connection.

Justin Louder, MA (EDIT Doctoral Student)

Recommendation – Camtasia(recommendation to the CMMT department committee members)

Even though Adobe CS4 Captivate comes highly recommended from a colleague (former colleague from the nursing dept. – Justin is highly technically adept), I recommend Camtasia Studio 6.

I had difficulty downloading the free trial version of Captivate. The Captivate options were overwhelming and not intuitive. As many of you have stated in surveys, you are not comfortable with technology. I surmise that Captivate would be perceived as too complex; therefore, having a greater learning curve that with Camtasia.

I predict Captivate would not be utilized by our department or utilized well.

Recommendation continued on next slide

Recommendation – Camtasia Cont.(recommendation to the CMMT department committee members)

CMMT is Camtasia is

on a tight budget less expensive

uncomfortable using technology

easy to use and very intuitive

in need of a program primarily to create tutorials and presentations

software that easily allows the user to record and produce tutorials and presentations

in search of an alternative to Adobe Captivate

the less expensive, comparable alternative to captivate

Software Recommendation TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio 6

Sources Referenced Adobe Product Website. Retrieved Feb. 11th,

2010 http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/?promoid=DJDVX

Is there any alternative to Captivate? Retrieved Feb 10th, 2010. http://www.flashvideorecorder.com/captivate.html

Louder, J. (2010, February 11th). Email interview.

TechSmith Product Website. Data Retrieved Feb. 11th, 2010. http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp