Jing review

Warning: This post maybe a bit tech-savvy.

Jing is a screen capturing application that can be used for both PC and Mac.  It is a great app for making a 5 min how to video using PC and Mac, or simply saving a screen shot image with simple steps. 

To use, you need to first download the application, and sign in/create account.  Here is the link... 

Once the app is running, you will see the half sun looking icon on your desktop somewhere (mine was at the top... see picture, it's above the red giant arrow:)

Jing makes it really easy to capture screen shot. (If you have ever saved a screen shot using "prt scr" and "past" on paint app, you will really know what I mean...)  I feel confident that even my mother who would make an international call just to ask me how to install something on her computer, multiple times, would be able to use this application with ease. 

The image is saved as PNG onto desktop (which can be changed, of cause), so it will be kind of big file (about 2MB) and very detailed for a desk top screen shot.  I re-saved the above image as jpeg to save uploading time and storage space through paint. Thus, the image is editable, and can be manipulated through other app and software, or uploaded to other places such as blog, facebook, and so on. 

The video capturing on the other hand, is as simple. It is saved as SWF file, which I have never seen before, and in order to convert it to more familiar file such as MP4 or AVI, you need to convert it through different programs. (here is a website which will do it for you, *I had problem converting it correctly...)   The file will be saved onto desktop just as the image file, but the computer will not recognize the video.  In order to view the video, you must go to the Jing and click file under history. This hassle can be avoided through sister-program screencast (screencast.com).

Overall, this program would be a great resource for education for creating how to video. It will be a great demonstration tool for sure. Yes, it is easy to use and navigate, once you get it started.  Yes, it meets ISTE/NETS standard.  It can be used as assessment with combination of other medium such as rubric. It can also be used as mean for students' work, but feedback maybe somewhat limited.  (Though students can capture something on screen, explaining what is being done, and only turn in a link of the video to teacher, saving data space and uploading time... and the video itself is somewhat private... this may be a good deal)  Students may be able to collaborate using the program, but it is limited. However, it will be suitable for ALL subject as long as teacher design assignment well :)