Students in an online summer class got stuck at the last minute with a novel and potentially confusing scenario in the LMS. I needed to explain a process that involved lots of clicking around and checking different spots in the GUI. I chose to make a screencast to simplify the explanation process and to provide a point of reference for students to use to help them along.
With an assignment deadline looming, many students had not yet joined groups in our course’s online shell. The next phase of our work together required everyone to be in groups first, so this critical step had extensive ramifications. I needed to show students how to go through the necessary steps before our next meeting.
Sacrificing a degree of professionalism (I made it wearing a T-shirt? Really?) for the sake of clarity and expedience, I recorded a screencast demonstrating the process students needed to go through to complete the task.
While this video by no means demonstrates course design or even what most would consider Instructional Design, it does provide a proof-of-concept example of my ability to respond to the needs of students and provide clear technical instruction using professional screencasting software.
Details on the reception of this video are lost to time, as I recorded it in 2013 and have since changed institutions. However, I consistently find that online students appreciate specific, relevant videos that respond to their immediate situations — videos like this one bring life and connection to online courses that so often feel distant and disconnected.