Teaching online requires a lot of writing and reading, which can be overwhelming for students. As a writer, I can usually do a good job of writing a written explanation of a complicated task or concept, but there are some things that are just easier to tell a student rather than write to a student.

For instance, I teach research writing online. One of the things I want to help students learn is how to search for sources online. While many students already know how to use search engines like Google.com, they are less familiar with the resources available from libraries. Even when students are aware of library resources, they aren’t sure how to access those resources. To make it easier, I created a short movie that takes my students through the required steps.

The best thing about the movie is that I didn’t have to dress up. The images are what appears on my computer monitor, and I narrate the images with my voice. The how-to for searching the library can be viewed here: http://screencast.com/t/PISUHuUWTX.

I can also select to film my computer screem without adding my voice. Once the film is created, I can upload it. Within moments, I have a URL I can share with my students.

Jing lets you film your computer screen, but you can also capture screen shots. Once you’ve captured those screen shots, you can edit the images quickly. You can use arrows and text to create step by step directions for your students.

Once you’ve created it, you can add the image to a Word file that offers complete directions or upload it to a web page.

When creating a Jing movie, I prepare my computer screen so everything is ready for me. I often open up a web page and a Word document side by side. On the web page, I use the tab feature so every page I will need during my lecture is already open and waiting for me. I select what part of my computer screen I want to film, and I start filming.

The only limit is the length of the film. The movie cannot be longer than 5 minutes, which really is an ideal length for online videos.

Here are a few Jings I have created to help my online and face-to-face students:

Formatting a Works Cited page: http://screencast.com/t/I2IpdMO7

Plagiarism discussion including important terms: http://screencast.com/t/n9E2a3y4SbO

The Importance of Citation (not to prevent plagiarism): http://screencast.com/t/ALbhTiEitg

One of my teaching friends, Heidi Sura, even uses Jing to give feedback to online students about their paper. She opens up the student’s paper on her computer, starts the Jing movie, and reviews her comments and mark-ups. She then sends a link to the student to review. Heidi teaches at Kirtland Community College.