Over the last few weeks I have published a bunch of how-to videos like this one about creating stop motion movies. I’ve had at least a handful of people ask me in emails or Tweets about the tool that I use to create those videos. I use Screencast-O-Matic to create my screencast videos.

Screencast-O-Matic is available in a free version and a pro version. The free version allows you to record for up to fifteen minutes at a time (that is plenty of time for most screencasts), publish to YouTube in HD, and save videos to your computer as MP4, AVI, and FLV files. The pro version ($15/year) includes video editing tools, unlimited recording lengths, a script tool, and removal of the Screencast-O-Matic watermark. Both versions of Screencast-O-Matic include a highlighted circle around your cursor so that viewers can easily follow your movements on the screen. A webcam recording option is included in the free and pro versions of Screencast-O-Matic.

Applications for Education
Screencast-O-Matic can be used for creating how-to videos or simple flipped lesson videos in which you record yourself talking over a set of slides.

Screencast-O-Matic does require Java which means that it won’t work on Chromebooks. Snagit for Chrome is a good option for recording screencast videos on Chromebooks.