Tools 2006

Tools for Participants (viewing presentations)

Here is a list of plug-ins you might need to download to listen/watch the presentations:

Tools for Presenters

Free Screen Capture Software

You can use SmartBoard software to create screencasts. (The use license requires that you or your organization own a Smartboard. The software itself does not require that you be plugged into a SmartBoard at the time you install or use it, however.) The software will capture your desktop and audio through your microphone. The software is cross-platform and can be downloaded from the Smart website after entering your name and email address. AVI files created on Windows computers need to be converted to a more compatible WMV file. (Check this page for details and links.) For mac users it’s a little easier, just install and go. Files are saved as QuickTime .mov files which you can import into iMovie and edit if you like. There are a slew of little programs included in the bundle. The one you’re looking for is called “Recorder.”
Click on your operating system. (You may have to “sign up.” Also free.) Then click on the [Install Now] button.

Commercial Screen Capture Software

• Camtasia (Windows-only)
• Articulate Presenter (Windows-only)
• iShowU (Macintosh-only)

VoxMedia has a nice collection on their wiki of screencasting tools. If you know of other screen capture software tools, please add a comment here and include a link.

Video conversion and compression

FFmpegX is a free, open source program for Linux/Unix and Macs that will convert and compress most video formats, including Flash. If you know of a Windows-based program (open source or commercial) that has similar functionality, please let everyone know by commenting here.