Tech Tip Tuesday - Introduction to Jing

Many of you have asked what I use to make these video tutorials for you.

There are many screen capture products out there but here we like to use a free product called Jing.

Besides this blog post you can learn more about Jing on our Faculty Help page in Blackboard.

Jing allows you to easily capture ANYTHING that is on your computer, whether it's a web page, Blackboard, document etc.  It is a great way to give visual tutorials to those that need a little extra help or to really provide more clear directions to something.

The only limitation to Jing is the recording time per video is limited to 5 minutes.  Most people don't need more than that because it can become too long and boring.  If you do need more than that you can:

• upgrade to the pay version of Jing called Snagit (use your edu powers and get it cheaper)
• or chunk you video topic into smaller (less than 5 minutes) sections

The other nice part of Jing is the ability to use another free TechSmith product called Screencast to share your videos with anyone just by giving them your link.

In order to record your voice you do need a microphone built into your computer or an external one you can plug in to use.  I have one built into my computer but I find I get better voice quality (even though no one likes the sound of their own voice :) ) using an external one the plugs into a USB port.  I like my little 'American Bandstand' looking microphone I got off Amazon for around $30.  I am very fancy by propping it up on a Kleenex box. 

My Fancy Office Setup

Tech Tip Tuesday - Creating Hyperlinks

If you are a bit type 'A' like me you like your Blackboard announcements, emails and documents to look nice and neat.

A great way to add external content, like websites, to any of these tools is through a hyperlink.  A hyperlink is where you see a word or phrase in text and are able to click on it and it brings up a webpage or YouTube video.  Hyperlinks not only look professional but they are also very easy to do once you know what you are looking for.

This short video tutorial is not only an example of a hyperlink but shows you how to create hyperlinks in blackboard and word.

If you are using hyperlinks be aware that you can link to a webpage from a source that requires a log in and password, however, your intended audience will not be able to view the content.  If it is a source they have log in access to it is better to link them to the homepage or log in page and give directions from there.  This includes most items here at Stevenson since most things require a log in to view.

Happy Hyperlinking!

Tech Tip Tuesday - Lynda.com

This week I wanted to share with you a service that Stevenson has that I am not sure a lot of people know about or take advantage of.

Lynda.com is an online training library that covers many different topics such as Blackboard, Microsoft, Windows, Apple, various other software, video, business, photography, web design etc.  Anyone can join Lynda.com for a fee but Stevenson pays for this service for us and as employees (or students) we allowed to take advantage of any of the 'courses' as much as we wish, even if it does not pertain to our profession.

What is great about Lynda.com is it is designed to teach us these skills that we wish to know more about but also does a great job in dividing these 'courses' into chapters so we can skip around to what is really important.

For students, we can 'assign' them a course and at the end they can print out a certificate to prove that they completed it.

The tricky part about using Lynda.com through the University is how to get to it.

1. Go to the Stevenson University website.


2. In the drop down menu at the top, scroll down and select SU Cloud.


3. Login as you would your SU Email or Blackboard


4. In the bottom left hand side you will see a 'SU Cloud'.  Click the cloud and select Lynda.com and you are in!

Play around and see what they offer.  There are courses about Blackboard and many of the tools we can use or incorporate into Blackboard.  Or you might find something you have interest in as a hobby.  Have fun! :)