Create a Course Overview Screencast
What is a Course Overview Screencast?
A course overview screencast is one of the simplest and most effective ways to set your students up for success in online and hybrid learning environments. In short, this screencast is a brief orientation video that demonstrates for students how to:
- Navigate to key content areas
- Use essential course tools
- Access important course resources
Why Create a Course Overview Screencast?
In addition to providing clarity, an orientation screencast establishes the instructors presence within the course from the outset. This presence not only enhances student engagement but also fosters a supportive and welcoming learning environment. Regardless of a students prior experience with online learning, a brief course overview video can:
- Reduce student anxiety
- Build confidence in navigating the course
- Establish a welcoming instructor presence
- Significantly cut down on basic how-to emails
This guide will walk you through planning, recording, and sharing a course overview screencast that meets these goals and supports students in your course.
Planning Your Course Overview Screencast
Step 1. Create an Outline
A great way to start is to build an outline of specific topics you plan to cover or demonstrate in your screencast. As you work through the outline, consider how a student might navigate the course, and organize the topics in a logical way.
The following are example topics you might consider including:
- An overview of the Homepage and helpful information linked there.
- How to locate the Start Here page or module, if you have one.
- A mention of the Announcements tool and how you plan to use it.
- The Syllabus page, any included documents, and the Course Summary, if shown.
- A quick walk-through of Modules and how they typically work in your course.
- How to access and/or submit Discussion posts, Assignments, and Quizzes.
- How to view Grades and where to view feedback in your course.
- Other course areas that are essential or unique components of your course.
Step 2. Create a Script.
Writing a script is highly recommended because it helps ensure clarity, focus, and efficiency. A script allows you to organize your thoughts, cover all essential topics, and avoid rambling or missing important steps. Having a script can boost your confidence while recording, allowing you to speak naturally and maintain an engaging presence. Additionally, a script can serve as the basis for captions or a transcript, making your screencast more accessible and ensuring accuracy when presenting technical terms, links, or instructions. Overall, scripting is a simple step that leads to a polished, professional, and student-friendly orientation video.
Other Considerations Before Recording
Before you start recording your screencast, take a few moments to consider the following tips that can make a significant difference in the quality of your video and the experience for your students:
Environment and Equipment
- Choose a quiet, well-lit space to minimize distractions.
- Ensure your microphone and camera (if using video) are working properly.
- Test your screen recording software to avoid technical issues during recording.
Student Perspective
- Use View as Student to create the recording from the student perspective.
- Ensure the content you plan to show is visible and temporarily remove lock dates, etc., if necessary.
Length and Engagement
- Keep the screencast concise ideally 35 minutes.
Accessibility
- Add captions and provide a transcript to support all learners.
- Use clear, simple language and avoid excessive jargon.
Tone and Presence
- Speak naturally and warmly to create a welcoming instructor presence.
- Ensure that your tone, pace, and enthusiasm are encouraging to students.
Practice Run
- Do a short practice recording to check timing, clarity, and flow.
Recording Your Screencast
Once you have planned your content and considered the ideas above, its time to record your course orientation screencast.
Set Up Your Recording Space
When youre ready to record, be sure you have the following ready to go:
- Your quiet, distraction-free recording space.
- Your script is visible from your recording space via a second monitor, an additional device, or a printed version.
- Your Canvas Course opens to the Homepage in Student View.
- Other apps/Internet tabs closed or minimized from the recording view.
Using Kaltura Capture
The University-supported tool for screen and video recording is called Kaltura and will allow you to record screen, video, webcam or a combination of all three. In addition to its video recording capabilities, Kaltura integrates seamlessly with Canvas, allowing you to upload your video directly to your course homepage or to another location of your choice.
- Download and Install Kaltura Capture - This guide explains how to download and install the desktop recording application.
- Record a Video with Kaltura Capture - This guide explores how to launch Kaltura Capture, select options, record your content, and save your video to Kaltura for sharing.
- Upload a Video to Kaltura - If you prefer another video platform, you can upload your own video files in various formats to Kaltura for sharing.
Captioning Your Screencast
Captioning your screencast is helpful for all students, even those without a documented accessibility need.
Kaltura REACH
Kaltura REACH uses automated speech recognition (ASR) to transcribe spoken words in your video and generate machine-generated captions. Kaltura REACH captions are typically 75-85% accurate and can improve over time as the program adapts to learn your voice. Kaltura REACH also provides an editor to revise and improve the accuracy of your video captions.
Any instructor can request machine captions; just remember to edit them for accuracy. Please note that any SAS accommodations for captioning will go through the Student Accessibility Offices for professional captioning.
Adding Captions to Your Video
Once your video is saved, it will be processed and added to the My Media section of your Kaltura Library. To access the video:
- Navigate to .
- Log in to your Kaltura account using your kent.edu credentials.
- Click on your name in the top right corner to access My Media.
- Follow the steps in this guide to add machine captions to your Kaltura video.
Adding Your Screencast to Canvas
Once your video is created and captioned, you are ready to share it with your students!
Embed Via the Rich Content Editor
Kaltura integrates seamlessly with the Canvas rich content editor, so you can share your video with just a few clicks.
Often, course overview screencasts are shared on the course Homepage so that they are the first piece of content students see, serving as a guide for them to navigate successfully. However, you can add your screencast to any place in Canvas you like.
- Embed a Kaltura Video in the Canvas Rich Content Editor - This guide explains how to add your video to a Canvas page using the Kaltura App.
- View Kaltura Video Analytics - When you embed Kaltura videos in your Canvas courses using the Kaltura App, you can view analytics to see who has watched your video, the number of views, and how much they watched.
Upload Your Script
Along with the video, please upload a document version of your script. If you stray from the script, as is common, be sure to edit it before posting so that it serves as a word-for-word transcript. Providing a transcript not only ensures accessibility for all learners but also supports different learning preferences.