Cpd 23 - Thing 18 - Jing

Thing 18 is about Jing and podcasting/screencasting. I use Jing occasionally and I find it does its job extremely well. Once you get the hang of it and make the screens the correct size, it is fairly easy to use.

At my institution, we have integrated it into our library Moodle pages. These are then either played or alluded to in the induction, depending on content. We have Jings covering how to use the catalogue, how to use keywords effectively, and how to use eResources. As I have recently started delivering staff training on Moodle and interactive technologies in lessons, I will be creating a lot more on these topics.

The positives are:

• Fairly straight forward once you get the hang of it
• A good visual way of teaching something that is difficult to explain without showing practically

The negatives are:

• If any details change then the whole thing needs to be recreated (for example, all your access to resources is now through Moodle)
• They have to be done in one go so either keep using the pause button or don't sneeze!
• I really dislike listening to my own voice so it makes me feel all awkward!

Overall, not one of my favourite technologies but really rather useful.