Camtasia vs. Captivate vs. Free

a comparison of screencasting alternatives

Sponsored by the NCLA-CUS & NCLA-CJCS

Distance Learning Group

Presenters:

Nina Exner, NC A&T

James Missé, NC A&T

Gwen Exner, NCknows

Objective

Let’s talk screencasting software!

versus

plus some free alternatives

Not a how-to session!

Screencasts? The 1¢ Tour

Makes videos of

stuff happening

on your screen

½ ¢ more…

SCREENCASTS MAY ALSO HAVE…

…& other cool stuff!

AUDIO

Annotations /

Callouts

Intro over. On to the battle!comparis

on

Made by: TechSmithVersion: 7.1

OSs: Windows, MacPrice: $299

(Educational: $179)

CAMTASIA

Structured in multiple modules.Fairly easy for the basics, but options can get complex.

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

OPENS

CAMTASIAPress F10

to stop

Integrates an “add in” into Powerpoint.

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

CAMTASIA

SUMMARY•Cheaper than Captivate, more than free•Easy to get started using Camtasia!•Edits as whole video; hard to break up•Robust options (but less than Captivate)

o Adding text and calloutso Captioning (including speech-to-text)o Hotspots and basic interactivity

•SCORM compliant with some quizzes•The most production/output options

CAMTASIA

CAPTIVATE

Made by: AdobeVersion: 5.5

OSs: Windows, MacPrice: $799

(Educational: $299)

Adobe Captivate101

James MisséNorth Carolina A&T State University

Adobe Captivate 5.5

The purpose of this PowerPoint is to show those

who are not familiar with Adobe Captivate how it can completely change the way

we create tutorials for eLearners.

Why Captivate?• It is extremely user friendly and easy to

learn.

• Its robust features allow tutorial makers to be creative while making their tutorials.

• Question types in Captivate can be customized to provide the optimal tutorial experience.

• The interactive ability of Captivate can provide eLearners with an engaging experience.

Captivate’s interface is very user friendly

Seamlessly publish your tutorials straight to YouTube

Just press the “YouTube” button and you are good

to go.

Every object in Captivate can be redesigned, altered or enhanced to fit your

needs

This is an example of the properties that can be changed within a call

out caption

Examples of customizable question types that you can insert into a

Captivate tutorial

These question types can be used to accurately assess a learner. As you can see, Captivate does not limit your ability

to create assessments and

engage the learner through questions.

Interactive options in Captivate

Fully customizable widgets, animations, animated text, videos,

skins, captions, callouts, highlights, effects, audio and

more….

How can you use Captivate to help distance learners?

• You can import your existing PowerPoint slides and convert them into an interactive tutorials.

• You can create tutorials as a demonstration, training session or assessment.

• You can record videos from your screen.

Example of a PowerPoint presentation in a Captivate tutorial

All you do is click “File” and click “Import” to get your slides into Captivate

Various recording modes will allow you the freedom to create tutorials based upon the learning objectives that you

choose

OK, I hear Camtasia and other eLearning software do the same

things for much cheaper…

Well…Here are Some Features That Only Captivate Does.• Virtual collaboration through Adobe’s

eLearning cloud allows collaborators to view, edit and comment on Captivate projects

• Integrate other Adobe products

• Interactive animations for visually stimulating tutorials

• The easy to use Text-to-Speech feature

Collaboration Cloud

Once you share your projects through Captivate, others can download, view and edit them in a

collaborative manner

Captivate can easily integrate projects created using other Adobe

software

Choose from tons of Flash animations or make your own

Text to Speech (TTS)This feature

makes tutorials with voice audio

much easier to record. All you have to do is

type what you want the voice

to tell the listener.

In addition to the vast help features… “How to” information on virtually every aspect of Captivate can be found

online due to its huge fan base and heavy usage

How much does Captivate cost?

According to Adobe’s website, as of 12/1/11Adobe Captivate 5.5 is priced for Students

and Educators at

$299.00 USD

Bottom Line….

Adobe Captivate may not be the cheapest eLearning software out there

but it’s a Must Have in terms of collaboration. Also, its ability to engage the learner through interactivity is not

a feature that should be overlooked

Thank You

BEST OF FREEGreat for…- quick demos in virtual reference- experiments/getting your feet wet- small budgets

Not so great for…- advanced editing needs- recorded quizzes (SCORM)- any sort of interactivity

BEST OF FREEEasy, no editing•Web-based - Screencastle•Mac/Windows - Jing•Linux - XVidCap

Medium, some editing•Windows - Uvscreencamera

Hard, but might be worth it•Windows - ActivePresenter•Windows/Linux - Wink

SCREENCASTLEPro:•Web-based…no installation•Hosts file, and allows you to download •Lets you pause recording•Doesn’t place watermarks or branding•Unlimited recording time•Has plugins for Wordpress & MediaWiki•Records whole/partial screen, microphone, & mouse pointer•Extremely easy to use

SCREENCASTLECon:•No editing options•Basically no support•No way to retrieve your screencast if you lose the link•Only one type of output: .FLV (Flash video)

SCREENCASTLE

http://screencastle.com/

SCREENCASTLE

If you get a security warning like this, click Run

SCREENCASTLE

Adjust the height/width of the recording area, if desired

SCREENCASTLE

Select or deselect audio recording from the microphone

SCREENCASTLE

Open the recorder

SCREENCASTLE

Start the recording

SCREENCASTLE

End the recording

SCREENCASTLE

Save the recording

SCREENCASTLE

Can be used to download the recording

JINGPro:•Friendly, graphical interface•Lets you pause recording•Records whole/partial screen,• microphone, and mouse pointer•Easily shares with Twitter, Flickr,• Facebook, & FTP servers. •Keeps history of past recordings•Fair number of tutorials & help files

http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

JINGCon:•Loads at startup by default•Adds branding before & after•5-minute limit on recording time•Editing for screenshots, but not ‘casts. •Requires screencast.com registration•Visible on screen even when docked•Only one type of output: .SWF (Flash)•$15/year for pro version

http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

XVIDCAP

http://xvidcap.sourceforge.net/

Pro:•Able to handle high framerates•Lets you pause recording•Records whole/partial screen,• microphone, and mouse pointer•Many output format options.

XVIDCAPCon:•No editing options•No support other than FAQ•Not updated since 2006

http://xvidcap.sourceforge.net/

UVSCREENCAMERAPro:•Can add text, callouts, borders, arrows, & buttons that control flow or go to sites•Can edit audio and video•Records whole/partial screen, microphone, and mouse pointer•Free trial is not time- limited

http://uvsoftium.com/UVScreenCamera.php

UVSCREENCAMERACon:•Only proprietary video output in free version, but can make .EXE w/ player•Interface is somewhat clunky•Help files are not useful•No pause option•$50 for full version

http://uvsoftium.com/UVScreenCamera.php

UVSCREENCAMERA

http://uvsoftium.com/UVScreenCamera.php

ACTIVEPRESENTERPro:•Free version may (or may not) do SCORM output•Can import slides from PowerPoint•Many output options•Can add text, callouts, borders, arrows, captions, zoom/pan, questions, & more•Many online tutorials

http://atomisystems.com/activepresenter/

ACTIVEPRESENTERCon:•Free version may not (or may) do SCORM output•Site is inconsistent & confusing•PDF help file would not open•Full version is $350-$450

http://atomisystems.com/activepresenter/

ACTIVEPRESENTER

http://atomisystems.com/activepresenter/

WINKPro:•Absolutely free, open source•Very powerful, with many options•User-created tutorials available

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

WINKCon:•Very steep learning curve•Manual is very technical

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

Thanks!

Questions?

Wrapping it up…

Many more available!

Some eLearning environments can screencast as part of a bigger suite. Ex: SoftChalk

LessonBuilder

Consider your goals & needs

Free alternativesNo Installation – ScreencastleEasy and friendly – Jing Medium-techy – UVScreencamera Robust (&hard) – Wink; Xvidcap

Faster startupMore robust

Must have quizzes for

Blackboard, Sakai, orMoodle?

Low tech tolerance? Mac?

Linux?

No budget?

Little budget?

No techies at all?

Limited installations?

Xvidcap

Wink

Jing $15/year

UVScreencamera $50

ActivepresenterJing

*ScreencastleUVScreencamera

*Wink*Xvidcap

*totally free

Captivate$300

Camtasia$179

Or tryActivepresenter’s

free version(cautiously!)

Camtasia

Jing

Camtasia

Captivate

Jing

Screencastle

Pick your limit(s):

Or consider this plan:1) Record a couple of test videos using

Jing or Screencastle With and without narration! Try the most basic thing: an

intro to your library’s website!

2) Try “video-izing” an existing PPT

3) IF those work get trials of Camtasia and Captivate to test which you like

Questions?

The DLG thanks the North Carolina Library Association,

CUS and CJCS.Nina Exner James Missé Gwen ExnerNC A&T NC A&T NCknowsninae@ncat.edu jbmisse@ncat.edu gwenexner@

gmail.com