Jing ---- take screenshots and record screencasts

In this post, I will introduce:

1. What is Jing
2. How to use Jing
3. The advantages of using it in ELT
4. The limitations of employing it in ELT
5. References
6. Links for further reading

 1. What is Jing

   Jing is a smart software for taking screenshots and recording Screencasts. The free version of Jing allows users to capture images on the computer screen or record up to five minutes of onscreen video. Users can upload the videos or images through screencast.com and gain link for viewing them again.

   Download Jing is totally free, so try it out! :)

2. How to use Jing

Jing is a user friendly software. Users can find it extremely easy to operate Jing. Here is a clear demonstration of using Jing.

3. The advantages of using Jing in ELT

• Teachers can provide more explicit feedback. As Jing allows teachers to record Screencasts, teachers can provide feedback by giving instructions vocally while pointing out the language points being explained on the screen. Through using audio and visual effect, students can get a clearer view on the quality of their homework, therefore it becomes easier for them to digest the knowledge and correct mistakes they made.

• Students gain more interest in revising their homework. In the traditional way of correcting homework, after receiving the corrected homework back, students usually will not reread their homework. However, when students receive video demonstration, their interest of learning feedback from teachers can grow higher, and they become more engaging into reviewing their homework.

• Build up stronger bond between students and teacher. Unlike the cold paper work, in the video, teacher's emotions are exposed more directly to students. For instance, if a teacher praises the students' work, students can remember deeper and may become more active to express their ideas to the teacher. The bond between teacher and students can become stronger.

• Enhance peer interaction. As the videos made by Jing can be uploaded onto screencast.com, students can click the link and watch other students' work . Teachers can help students to start discussions related to the revised homework and encourage them to exchange revising experience and share ideas. Teachers can also ask students to revise each other's assignments. In this way, in order to revise correctly, students unconsciously make more effort on gaining understanding of the class content.

• Boost teachers' engagement in revising homework As teachers have to do a video, they will surely spend more time on reviewing the work and organize the language before giving feedback in the tape. In this way, teachers become more engaging in the homework revising activities.

• Make a quicker and easier distribution. No matter where are the students and teachers, as long as they can surf online, revised homework can be sent back to them on time. It is unnecessary for them to go back to school to pick things up.

• Facilitate out-of-class activities. Teachers can ask students to use Jing to do a presentation or ask them to record their introduction of some useful tools they want to recommend to the class.

• Ask students to do reflective thinking. It is extremely useful to enhance their memory about what they learn in the classroom by speaking out what they learnt in the class, while pointing out the notes they made in the classroom.

4. The limitations of Jing in ELT

• Too short. Using the free version of Jing, users can only record a video up to five minutes. It may be too short for revision of long assignments.

• Increase too large amount of work for teachers. As it might become very time consuming for recording the homework. For instance, if teachers make some spoken mistakes, they have to retake the tape. 

5. References

No direct citations

6. Links for further reading

http://yueluictinelt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/jing.html

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