Screen recording is one of the important things for video makers everywhere. Recording videos and audios on your computer make your projects such as educational videos and demonstration videos a breeze. One of the important matters of creating demonstrations in video form is presenting them when you are doing a live demonstration in your school or office. Besides capturing videos and audio, you can also use a screen recorder to record everything happening on your desktop capture footage from your webcam, and use it as evidence of the call. Of course, you will need to use a screen recorder online for you to record your screen activities. That being said, we compile some of the best recorders that you can use.

Part 1: Review of AceThinker Online screen recorder

Price: Free

Supported Formats: MP4, MKV, AVI

Supported Browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox

When it comes to recording videos on your screen. Of course, you want to use a free tool. In today’s generation, you can find many screen recorders online. But some of them are complicated to use, and they are not free. With that, we recommend you to use the Acethinker Free Screen Recorder Online; it is one of the best free screen recorders online that allows you to record videos and audio to create awesome videos.

Furthermore, you can record video and audio together via webcam. Besides that, you can exclude or include the system sounds and configure the audio outputs for better recordings. Plus, it supports high-quality videos for up to 1080p. You can also make different types of screen recordings, such as gameplay, tutorial videos, and more. You can also add annotations on the video, such as lines, text, and more. It also supports different kinds of capture modes, such as full screen, wherein you can record the entire screen or select a specific area of the desktop. For you to use this online screen recorder, follow the easy steps written below.

Step 1: Visit the AceThinker Online Screen Recorder

First and foremost, you have to visit the Acethinker Online Screen Recorder’s official site using a browser on your computer and get familiarized with the tool.

Step 2: Start recording a video.

Next, to start the capture screen online, hit the “Start Recording” button that you can see from the site’s main interface. Then, configure the tool’s capture mode according to your preferences by clicking the “Region” option from the floating toolbar and dragging it into the area where you want to record. Then, click the “Rec” button to start recording a video.

Step 3: Stop the recording process.

While recording videos, you have the option to add annotations to your videos like lines, arrows, and more to make your videos awesome. After that, you can hit the “Red” button you can see from the floating toolbar to stop the recording.

Step 4: Save and play the recorded video

Once done recording, an additional window will appear showing the video that you recorded. From here, click the “Save” button located at the bottom right part of the tool and choose if you want to save it as a video file or GIF. You can also directly upload it to social media sites like YouTube by clicking the “Share” button located at the bottom right part of the tool.

Part 2: Go Pro – Screen Grabber Premium

Price: $29.95 per year

Supported Formats: MP4, MKV, AVI, 3GP

Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac

Since the Acethinker Free Online Screen Recorder has limitations when downloading videos and does not support a task manager, task scheduler, and video conversion, you can use the Acethinker Screen Grabber Premium. This is an all-in-one solution wherein you can record all the activities on your computer with high quality. Besides, it has task scheduler features that let you schedule your video recordings to your preferred time and date. Aside from recording videos, you can also record web screen capture as much as you can without changing the video’s original quality. It also offers many video file formats, including MP4, MOV, WMA, AVI, and more. In connection to this, you can select to record screen online along with the computer system, voice from a microphone, or record both. Like the Acethinker Free Screen Recorder Online, this tool can also add annotations such as lines, arrows, call-outs, etc., to the videos you are recording.

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Why Influencers and Podcasters Should Transcribe Audio to Text?

1. Increases Accessibility

Not everyone can access audio or video content. Did you know that there are 35 million hearing-impaired people in the United States alone?  That’s a large chunk of the population that depends on reading and writing to enjoy the content influencers create.

In addition, people whose first language is not English may not be able to understand the audio version of your content. Having a transcript helps them follow along more easily.

Not to mention the fact that people don’t always have their headphones with them, and if they are in a public place they may not be able to listen to the audio.

2. Provides Content Variety

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it hundreds of times. Content is king. And the more types of content you can provide, the better. In addition to increased visibility and higher search rankings, the beauty of multimedia is that it gives you opportunities to reach a variety of people in different ways.

Audio, for example, allows your followers to do other things while they listen. Video can provide a more personalized visual appeal. When you add in transcription, you give readers yet another way to engage with and enjoy your content. Plus, for many, reading is still a preferred way to absorb knowledge.

Then there’s the fact that transcripts are often much easier to share on social media than audio or video. Plus, many of your followers may not have the time to stop and watch or listen to an entire show.

3. Another Way to Repurpose Content

Speaking of content, transcribing a video or a podcast is a great way to repurpose your content. You could easily turn that transcription into an infographic, a tweetable quote, an email, or even an ebook.

4. Helps with SEO

The number one goal of all influencers is to get their content on the first page of search results. To help with this, you need to include as much unique, relevant and engaging content as you can. The more valuable information you can provide to the search engines, the higher the chances of achieving visibility.

One way to do this is by adding a variety of media in each of your posts, whether it be pictures, a podcast recording or video. However, to make that post indexable by search engines, you will still need to include the text of your audio or video. That’s where transcription comes in. By transcribing the audio to text, bots will be able to crawl the entire content of your podcast or video, leading to the indexing of the post.

As a bonus, you could also use that transcript to help write your blog post. Not only will it be full of keywords, but you will also be providing followers (and bots) with original content.

5. Saves Time

How many times have you been out and about and a brilliant content idea pops in your head? So you pull out your phone and record yourself so you can remember your thoughts later. Using audio to text, you can have the recording transcribed, saving yourself a lot of time from having to type out your thoughts afterward.

6. It Shows You Care About Your Audience

Forming a connection with your followers is paramount in the influencer marketing world. Taking the time to include a text transcript of the audio or video you produce, tells your listeners that you care about their needs.

7. Video and Podcasts Aren’t for Everyone

While there is a lot of focus on creating videos and podcasts, not everyone in your audience wants to listen or watch them. I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely listen to podcasts. They take too much time, plus I prefer the quiet that comes with reading.

Also, reading makes it easier for many people to learn and absorb information.  Plus it can be a lot faster than listening or watching.  There are millions of people out there who love to read, so you need to make sure that your content is available to them as well.

8. Increases Sharability

Everybody wants more traffic to their content, and there is a direct correlation between the sharing of content and an increase in traffic. The more times your content is shared, the more traffic you get. By having a transcript of your video or podcast, you are increasing the chances of getting quoted in a blog, article or tweet.

Also, having a text transcription of your content makes it a lot easier for people to find, copy/paste and then share the specific points that resonated with them.

In Conclusion

Having a transcript is a great way to help you get the most out of your hard work. Not only will it improve accessibility and shareability, but it also allows you to repurpose content and reach more people.

The post 8 Reasons Why Influencers and Podcasters Should Transcribe Audio to Text appeared first on Tricky Enough.

To improve the quality of audio that you record for business videos, you should try using the following tips:

• Always use an external microphone

The built-in microphone on most video cameras is compressed and won’t be able to capture high-quality audio. As such if you want your audio quality to be good, you need to use an external microphone to record it.

Although you don’t need a top-of-the-line microphone, you should try to find something that is decent. In particular, you may want to look at different types of microphones such as Shotgun or lavalier microphones. Each type is good in different situations, so first you should decide on the type of audio you need to record.

• Reduce the amount of ambient noise

To improve the audio quality you should try to reduce the amount of ambient noise that your microphone will inadvertently pick up. Trying to find a quiet location to record would be good – but it isn’t always an option.

Overall you should try to remove any sources of ambient noise that you can from the equation. Some of the common examples that you could start with include electrical appliances, fans, air conditioners, and even computers.

• Set up a makeshift recording studio

If you are going to be recording audio for business videos on a regular basis, it may be worth setting up a makeshift recording studio. Initially, it doesn’t have to be anything too fancy – and you can start with a relatively quiet room.

Some of the ways you could improve your makeshift recording studio are by soundproofing its walls. For example, you could set up railings on the walls and drape carpets or curtains over them.

• Test the audio quality

Before you record the actual video, be sure to test the audio quality. All you need to do is record a short clip that contains parts where you speak into the microphone and parts where you do not.

Based on that test recording you should be able to gauge the audio quality, and can take steps to further improve it if necessary.

Generally speaking, the easiest way to make sure the audio quality is good is to record it separately from the video. That way you can record the audio in a quiet setting and make sure its quality is good. Later you can add audio to video during post-production, and for example, you could use Movavi Video Editor for that.

While it is difficult to record ‘perfect’ audio outside of an actual audio production studio – the tips listed above should help improve your audio by leaps and bounds. Give it a try, and ‘hear’ the difference for yourself.

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It only makes sense to take advantage of these new tools since they’re available, affordable, and capable of being put to highly advantageous and creative uses.

Audio Tools

Speaking and listening are clearly the two sides of the “audio tech coin,” and that means we can approach potential enhancements in two tiers: computer speakers & headphones and microphones & recording/playback apps.

Computer Speakers & Headphones

The speakers built right into your computer are adequate only up to a point. But as soon as you need to share a Youtube video or other audio content with the whole class or (on the opposite end) prevent the whole class from being disturbed by one student’s computer during audio-visual, interactive learning – you need external speakers and headphones.

For an in-depth, a buyer-focused guide to computer speakers, follow the provided link. But you’ll need to look for such features as compatibility with multiple devices, sound quality and power, durability and warranty, Bluetooth integration, energy efficiency, aesthetics, compactness, ease of use, and affordability to make an informed decision.

In addition to or instead of quality external computer speakers, you likely also want to invest in some headphones that students can use during audio or audio-visual learning sessions. There’s a long-running debate over which is better – speakers or headphones, but in reality, both have their place in the classroom as well as outside of it.

As to sound quality, look for such metrics as the following to optimize it:

• THD (total harmonic distortion). This measures how true the sound your audio unit produces is to the source from which it was played. Lower is better here – and anything between .05% and 0.8% is sufficiently “clean.”
• Translate this term “resistance” and understand that less resistance means more power and higher ohms. But you’ll need a trustworthy amplifier or those extra ohms won’t do much for you anyway, and a high (say, four) ohm speaker is going to cost you more too.
• Frequency response. This metric basically measures the range of sound audio units (especially headphones) are capable of producing. Since human ears only hear between 20 and 20,000 Hertz, you really don’t need anything outside of that range.
• Sensitivity is measured in decibels (dB) of sound pressure per milliWatt, but many just call it decibels. The relevant factor here is that this metric shows how loud a speaker or headphone is going to be as it converts electrical signals into audible sound content.

Whether you are using computer speakers, over-the-ear headphones (headphones proper), around the ear headphones (earbuds), or in-ear headphones (earphones), you want to pick high-quality, durable products that can stand up to the wear and tear of student usage over multiple school years.

Given that you may need to buy numerous units of each product to outfit all your school computers and accommodate all your students’ needs, the price point has to be as important a factor as quality. To find the right balance, be sure to read online reviews, research the details of how to read the specs, and educate yourself to be an informed comparison shopper who will know how to select the best product and find the best deal on it.

Microphones & Educational Audio Apps

For high-quality, reliable sound and recording, an external microphone is an important add-on to your computer set up. Microphones enable much higher quality and better experience with audio recordings, podcasts, YouTube videos, as well as computer games (for those much-needed student breaks!)

It’s much easier to include multiple people in the same audio project if you have an external mic.

Your two main types of mics to choose from are analogs, which plug right into the PC audio input jack and USB mics (that plug into the USB port.)

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Analog microphones are more flexible in that you can later opt to add on preamps and audio processors between the mic and the computer. But absent that extra gear, they rely very much on the computer’s built-in audio system, which might limit sound quality and reliability with some PCs and some mic models.

USB microphones can be low-end and suffer from the same problems as most analogs, but more often, they are superior (if more pricey.) They’ll frequently come with a pre-amp and audio processor built right into the mic. All your needed features are included in high-end models. That limits flexibility but the mic is less reliant on the PC for functionality and will give you better performance overall.

Other options include buying headphones with built-in microphones or an external Webcam with a microphone built into it.

Pairing your external microphone with modern apps offers numerous creative educational opportunities for you and your students. You can teach kids to make their own podcasts, YouTube videos, audio blog recordings, and more. They learn both computer skills and speaking/composition skills.

The StoryCorps app is great for teaching storytelling skills and expanding the horizons of your “show and tells” time

Voice-typing through Google Docs helps students who struggle with keyboards to record their thoughts verbally and have it automatically transcribed into text.

Mic Note and Evernote are great mobile apps your students can use to take down notes fast for later study and perusal.

AudioBoom lets each user set up a free account and record unlimited ten-minute audio clips. You can get AudioBoom for PC, Android, or iPhone. It’s frequently used for book reviews or summaries of your last-assigned textbook reading.

We’ll mention just one more, though the list could go on without end – Speaker. Speaker is great for student-created podcasts of 15 minutes each. They can store up to five hours for free, so you can assign multiple projects.

Today’s technology offers a wide swathe of audio tools for use with school PCs and with students’ smartphones. This presents an enormous opportunity to more efficiently and more effectively teach in an interactive, cooperative way and to accommodate students’ learning styles.

Visual Tools

Providing students with a classroom iPad or having a bring your own device policy is certainly one way to enhance visual engagement and participation. But it can also “divide” the class, as each stares at his/her own screen – and some kids may even be tempted to try switching websites!

That’s why quality classroom monitors with large screen sizes and high-resolution graphics are important for presenting lessons and other educational content to your students. You can combine individual devices, monitors, and online visual learning apps for the best overall results.

A laptop screen just won’t be large enough. Look for at least a 16:9 aspect ratio for your screen. And consider even getting a curved screen that will create an “immersive” effect.

The best resolution for a monitor will be either HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) or 4K (3,840 x 2160 pixels). The higher the pixel count, the sharper the image – and the easier for your students to see screen details and hold attention.

Finally, if you get an LCD screen, try to get one with an LED backlight. It will significantly enhance the appearance of the screen content.

Other apps and helpful digital tools to put to use include:

• And you don’t have to buy all the eBooks you use because you can access children’s eBooks on sites like Disney Digital Books or We Give Books. Plus, Storyline Online offers eBooks read out loud by famous actors.
• Visual Storytelling. Not only can high-tech story creation by kids be digital; it can be visual as well. Storybird enables the making of “story art” by kids, and Zimmer lets them animate those stories to bring them to life!
• Online videos. No need to hunt down a DVD. TeacherTube, Discovery Education, and SafeShare TV all enable rapid access to a wide variety of educational videos.

Interactive Tools

There are also a number of interactive apps that can help make learning more interactive, but that don’t seem to fit easily into the categories “audio” or “visual.”

Here are some of the most exciting ones:

• Interactive whiteboards. Using software like a SMART Board, teachers can broadcast e-whiteboard lessons. And kids can also be given the chance to exercise their tactile skills via e-pens.
• Virtual timers, like the one provided by Online Stopwatch, helps teachers structure class time with digital countdowns, timers, and clocks.
• Digital awards. Want a fast, easy way to organize and manage student behavior? Class Dojo gives you a digital awards points system, which you can customize to your needs.
• Interactive learning sites. Starfall works wonders with early reading skills, Math Magician does the same with math skills, and Seussville offers a variety of fun learning activities.

Of course, one could go on endlessly with examples of how modern technology is enhancing the learning experience in the classroom. But this should give you a good start in finding audio, visual, and other interactive applications!

The post High-tech Tools To Enhance Teaching And Learning appeared first on Tricky Enough.