Ways to Improve Screen Recordings

No matter what device you’re using, there are lots of tricks you can use to make your screen recordings high quality. High quality recordings are important visuals that will allow students to more easily follow demonstrations, understand complex content, and foster a deeper understanding of your subject. Screen recordings, also called captures, can be created using whatever application you’re most comfortable with (I’ll mention a few at the bottom of this post), but this blog will walk you through tips on how to best craft high quality screen recordings, no matter the application, and that will, in turn, allow you to enhance the quality of your professional and educational video content.

Well-crafted screen recordings can capture the nuances of a subject, so before you get started recording or capturing, review these first few steps:

1. Create an outline, and stick to those ideas.

We all know there have been times when you walked into your classroom and were able to improv the beginning of your lecture. You knew the material, you taught it before, and you were confident that you’d be able to explain your way out of it. That may have worked in the classroom where you could have seen the confusion on your students’ faces, but that won’t work in a video. It’s best to be as prepared as possible before you sit down and start recording. Reading through the outline and preparing ahead of time will show you what material is actually worth including, what you need to explain more, and will also reduce the amount of stammering you might do. If you’re confident in the material, and sound confident on the recording, you will increase the likelihood of someone listening.

2. Practice screen recording a few times to learn the functions.

Not all screen recording and capturing apps are built the same, and their functionality will differ from device to device. Run your outline through to get the linguistic kinks out, but also try it a few times to make sure you know the functionality well. While recording, you’ll want to know how to seamlessly use all the features, so before you start get familiar with the pointer functions, where to find the pause/stop recording button (or the easier one to access if you’re using the Zoom screen recorder), or even how to turn on the visible cursor while recording on an iPad. At the very least, make sure you know how to turn the recording off, and where the recording will be stored when you’re finished.

3. Get yourself into a quiet space with a microphone.

You won’t need a professional-grade microphone, but having some kind of microphone will help with the quality of your sound. Be sure you are recording in a space free from a lot of distractions: turn off your tv, mute the notifications on your phone and put it in another room, mute your Teams and Outlook on your computer, convince your dog to not bark for five minutes, do whatever it takes to make sure you have as much quiet as you can. And while you’re in that quiet space, utilize some kind of microphone to make your sound as clear as possible. Students will pick up on background noises (even a fan running on a laptop can sound very loud), and that will easily overshadow your content, so clear sound is key. If you’re used to using ear buds or Air Pods for your phone calls, you can pair them with your device and use them for your recordings, too. You’ll be surprised at the difference it can make.

4. It sounds funny, but try and relax.

This is the tip that sounds the most ridiculous, but it’s important. If you’re not used to listening to your own voice, or watching yourself on the screen, it can be a little jarring at first. One of the best tips I can give you is to try and fake it the best you can; fake it ‘til you’re good at it. The good news is, you know the content. This new way to deliver the information is just a new mode of delivery, it doesn’t have to feel insurmountable. You’ve done the work: you have an outline, you know the technology, you’ve put yourself in a good environment to record, now relax and try to have fun with it. A screen recording of you should feel just as warm and welcoming as a class with you, so feel free to inject your personality into a video just as much as you would into a classroom lecture.

5. Keep it short and sweet.

Sometimes when you start recording you get into the zone and loosen up, and you end up talking for longer than you anticipated. Without an outline and practice, this is very easy to do. Do your best to keep it as succinct as possible. Attention spans are very short, and students will most likely be watching your screen recording while they’re doing something else, so keep it short and to the point. The nice thing about this mode of delivery is that students can watch it as many times as they want or need to, so if an idea is really that complex, you can mention that they have the ability to re-watch at their will.

You may be wondering, how do I condense very long, important material into something “short”? And that’s a good question. The length of your video is an important thing to consider from your viewer’s standpoint. Think about where they will be watching, the device they might be using, and how the video will perform on the smallest possible screen you can imagine. Considering all of that ahead of time will help you determine how long your video should be. If after you craft your outline you notice that it’s going to be longer than a few minutes, look for places to split the content into multiple videos. Breaking it up into smaller chunks makes it easier to manage. As long as you do a good job of explaining why there will be multiple videos in the introduction of your first one, or if you explain it in Canvas, viewers will have no issues stopping one and then starting the next, and they’ll appreciate that you didn’t post a twenty-minute video with no breaks. If you feel like it has to be very long, and you’ve done all the work to determine there’s no alternatives but to post a longer video, you can add chapters to your longer recordings (Kaltura makes this fairly easy) and that will allow students to find the specific information they’re looking for without having to scrub through the entire piece. Again, when creating these videos, it’s best to keep the viewer/student at the forefront of the video’s purpose.

6. Talk slowly and be expressive.

When you’re rehearsed and relaxed, it will be easier to deliver your information. A tip to making it easier on your audience is to talk slowly – perhaps even more slowly than you regularly do in class. Being cognizant of your speed will keep you from rushing and talking too quickly, and if students want to speed up the video they’ll have the option during playback. For students that are only listening to your video (which is likely) make sure you are being as expressive as possible about what buttons you’re clicking on or where you’re pointing, and then describing any included images that are relevant to your presentation. For example, if you include a graph that is pertinent to your topic, briefly explain what’s happening on the graph and make that connection verbally. Doing this will ensure that all students, regardless of their abilities, will be able to follow your direction. Creating these videos with an eye (and ear) towards universal design will not only make them accessible to all of your student viewers, but also just easier to follow. It’s best to add these kinds of ‘stage directions’ to your outline, so that you practice doing them before you ever get to your recording.

7. Watch it back, and edit if needed.

It can be difficult to listen to your own voice in a recording, but it’s imperative that you watch the video before you post it.

Look out for the following:
Does it have sound?
Do I include all my salient points?
Am I talking too quickly?

A few mistakes in a screen recording are not a big deal, and it’s actually endearing to the students if you recognize the mistake and then work it through with them on the recording. For example, if you’re doing a complex math problem and you make a small, common mistake – mention that! Students will like hearing that the mistake they will also likely make is a common one, and if they see you work it out, you have created a space for them to see how learning is a process.

That being said, by watching the video before you post it you’ll be able to notice big mistakes and be able to fix those before posting. Sometimes that will mean doing the screen recording again, or it might mean just trimming the ends of the video file in Kaltura. Either way, you’ll be able to catch the mistake before your students do.

Creating a screen recording or capture of your presentation is an easy way to extend the dialogue of your classroom space – whether it’s in person or online. By using these seven steps, and even googling more, you’ll be well on your way to churning out high quality recordings that look and sound good.

Getting Started with Recording

Interested in doing a screen recording but don’t know what application to use? Here are a few to get you started:

On a Mac:
– Quicktime Player (comes with your computer)
– Screenshot (comes with your computer): https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/take-a-screenshot-mh26782/mac

On a PC:
– Snipping Tool (comes with your computer, but might not record audio. Test first!)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/learning-center/how-to-record-screen-windows-11

On an iPad
– Screen Recorder (comes with your iPad)
https://idaltoona.psu.edu/2023/09/13/screen-recording/

Online:
– Zoom (University preferred)
– Kaltura Capture (University preferred)
– Screencastify (Has free options, and also has an editor)

Now that you’re armed with some tips and tricks to help with your screen recordings and captures, please reach out to the Office of Instructional Design if you have any further questions on what to record, how best to use the recordings, or any kind of best practices for video content. Happy creating!