Dorko Demo: Tablet PCs and Camtasia Studio Help Students

It's been awhile since my last Dorko Demo! I've been pretty busy researching the pharmaceutical sales business and creating Dorko Demos has not been a major priority. However it was only a matter of time before I was up and rolling again recording my screen in an effort to help others. This time the inspiration came from a friend that was studying for his DAT. He im’ed me online and asked about a chemistry problem he was having difficulty solving. After he did his best to type the whole thing out I finally tried to respond back with my own frantic text. However typing was like trying to describe a picture in 10 words. I think we all know that a picture or diagram tells its own story and thus was the case here. Despite cell phones, e-mail and instant messengers there is still this communication barrier where activities like helping a friend work through a chemistry problem is still a difficult task. It's one of those activities that need a visual perspective to get a handle on the problem. Now if he had a Tablet PC and OneNote (not a lousy Mac) we could have set up a live shared notebook session and could walk through it as these tools would translate each others thoughts and words to other. However he turned his nose up at the Tablet PC idea so Camtasia Studio was the next tool I turned to!

I think we can all agree that Camtasia Studio is great for teachers and professors in that it allows them to capture PowerPoint lectures and share it with their students for viewing later. It’s a great concept but Camtasia Studio can also assist students with homework problems or information they don’t quite understand. This was my approach I deployed with my friend. I took the problem, opened up journal, started Camtasia Studio and hit record. I was then working my way through the problem, explaining my steps and reasoning as I went along. I ended the presentation and then sent it to him. He was amazed!

Equipped with a Tablet PC and Camtasia Studio in hand I was able to help him in a way traditional methods just don’t permit. A live session where he would be able to interact with one another along the way would be even better but this method got the job done. He was able to view the recording, pause it, work on the problem and rewind if he got confused. Most students meet in the library and work through difficult problems together but this is no longer an option for some. For example; my school is mostly commuter based and many of us live 30 minutes or more away from each other. With complex schedules getting everyone together is often difficult. However if everyone had a Tablet PC and a copy of Camtasia Studio a student could ask how to solve problem #32 and another would be able to send them a screencast of the entire procedure. This also provides an effective way for professors and students enrolled in online classes a means of communicating and interacting. Often these classes leave students feeling separated from one another. Camtasia Studio, Tablet PCs and a web cam would allow student to collaborate together and benefit from group studying like everyone else!

This same method could help professors and teachers address students questions as well. There are many times that I have questions but have classes all day with no time in between in addition to class during the professor’s office hours. My schedule is also crazy sometimes and setting up an appointment is a tricky task. I often resort to e-mail but I can’t tell you the number of times I had a question but was frustrated with the response and felt like I had to convert the e-mail into a new language to actually solve the problem. Again can you imagine trying to show a student how to solve an Organic Chemistry problem without a Tablet PC? Again a Tablet PC and Camtasia Studio would allow the teacher to use the Tablet PC as a whiteboard and demonstrate how to work out the problem just like they would in class.

In this Dorko Demo I tried to show exactly how one would go about completing this task and use of a Tablet PC as a digital whiteboard. I work through a typical chemistry problem and explain it while I use my Tablet PC to solve it. Camtasia Studio records the whole thing!

I also used a webcam for the very first time. I have been trying to set it up with my Tablet PC for the past week. I had no problem with the desktop but my Lenovo X41 Tablet PC already has a hard time recording a screencast without dropped frames. Adding a webcam and PIP to the process was even more stressful! Despite the downside of an increased file size and download, I feel the webcam added a personal tough to the whole Dorko Demo. This is especially important when I was walking through my friend’s problem as it allowed me to virtually be there with him as he worked through it.

I also tried to use an unusual angle with the webcam where it would capture not only myself talking and rambling away but also my Tablet PC. My goal was to capture the joy and ease of writing on the screen for everyone lacking the opportunity to see the dance of pen and tablet. My Dorko Demo now allows viewers to see both my actual screen as well as the direct interaction with the Tablet PC. Let me know if you like this angle or if you would rather see just me in the picture. Also any comments on the use of the webcam would be appreciated. Would you like me to use it again in future Dorko Demos? I also know I had a hard time looking at the camera directly and sometimes found myself looking into space. I apologize for that and assure you that if I do keep the webcam I will try to resolve this issue

I hope you enjoy this Dorko Demo and as always would love to hear your thoughts!

Dorko Demo: Tablet PCs and Camtasia Studio Help Students
20:51 58.5 MB

posted by Jason Dorko at 9:01 PM 0 comments links to this post