Camtasia Studios and Differentiated Instruction

Camtasia Studios is a program that allows for video-based screen capture, showing all mouse clicks when navigating through a software application or a web site. I can see immense use of Camtasia Studios in the my classroom.

Although I have 19 computers in my classroom, they all face the exterior walls. Students cannot see the projection screen without turning around which makes following along on software applications or web tours difficult. Also, the readiness levels of my students in any given class, ranges from novice to experienced with every level in between. It makes it very difficult for some students to keep up and makes other students frustrated waiting.

Using Camtasia Studios will allow me to create tutorials for web site tours and specific software-based applications like creating graphs in Excel or making a concept map with Inspiration. I can also use Camtasia to narrate PowerPoint presentations, lecture notes and homework problem solutions.

One way to differentiate is to change the process in which students get the information. Using tutorials will allow students, particularly students whose learning preferences include sequential learning and are who are visual learners, another way to receive information that matches who they are as learners. Additionally, student readiness is one of the ways in which differentiation is based. Students who have little practice with technology applications other than what they receive in the classroom, will benefit from a tutorial that walks them through, step by step, a particular software application or web search. And, the tutorials can be repeated multiple times. For students who are absent from school, or who have accommodations in which they need a copy of teachers lecture notes, using Camtasia's application of narration in PowerPoint presentations and lecture notes will be extremely beneficial for both the student and the teacher.

I have applied for a mini-grant to get a copy of Camtasia Studio for use in making tutorials. I am excited to add this to the ways in which I can differentiate instruction in my classroom.