Screencastify by Heather Osborne Roach

Screencastify is a free screen capture/screencast software extension for Chrome. This cloud based program captures video and audio and allow teacher and students to communicate in new ways.

Screencastify can be used to narrate over slideshows and can be used to create stories, animations, or comic strips. Students can also use Screencastify to explain their thinking in their own words by recording themselves summarizing, sequencing, or explaining the main points of a story. The video dubbing can be used for storytelling and plot comprehension. Another use of this software to give students feedback on their writing by speaking over a student document. This feedback can be given by a teacher or a peer (Francis, 2017, p.1).

As previously mentioned, Screencastify can be used for students to explain their thinking. Students can record a video of their screen and add a voice over. For example, student can find evidence to support claims and explain their thinking orally. All moves and thinking are recorded which can allow for feedback. (Schwartz, 2016, p.1).

Teacher feedback can be expanded using Screencastify. As one teacher reports, it can be used to allow the teacher to sit virtually next to each student while giving feedback. The teacher can record feedback directly onto a screencast of the student’s writing so that the student can watch the video and then make changes to their writing. (Huynh, 2017, p.1).

Research shows that feedback is critical to student learning. It also needs to be specific, ongoing, action-oriented, and reasonable in order to have the maximum impact on students. This feedback may be given on a shared Google Doc and given throughout the writing process. Conferencing is an important part of the writing process as a way to provide student feedback (Barber, 2017, p.1).

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