Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video...

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Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day. At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop. Camtasia In-Class Project Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes. There’s much more that you can do with this software, but we’ll stick to the basics for now. You’ll plan, record, edit, and publish a video during this two-day project. If time allows, you can explore Camtasia to learn even more. Note: These instructions assume that you prepared for this project by viewing these materials: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/types-of-instructional-videos/ https://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-how-to-make-a-video-tutorial.html https://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-record-edit-share.html Project requirements To earn more than 0 points for this project, you must meet all of these requirements: 1. Submit your completed planning worksheet in Canvas. Note: You’ll see more details about the worksheet in the next section of this guide. 2. Ensure that your project includes the required components: An animated intro, selected from the Camtasia library A training overview slide At least 3 captions that add information value to the learning experience At least 2 highlight boxes that draw attention to important areas of the screen A screencast recording that teaches the viewer to do something worthwhile with the selected software 3. About 10 minutes before the end of class on Tuesday and Thursday, copy your entire project folder onto the USB drive that the instructor will provide for this purpose. 4. Attend class on both Tuesday and Thursday, and use the full class periods either to work on this project or to keep learning about Camtasia.

Transcript of Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video...

Page 1: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Camtasia In-Class Project Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes. There’s much more that you can do with this software, but we’ll stick to the basics for now. You’ll plan, record, edit, and publish a video during this two-day project. If time allows, you can explore Camtasia to learn even more.

Note: These instructions assume that you prepared for this project by viewing these materials:

• https://www.techsmith.com/blog/types-of-instructional-videos/ • https://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-how-to-make-a-video-tutorial.html • https://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-record-edit-share.html

Project requirements To earn more than 0 points for this project, you must meet all of these requirements:

1. Submit your completed planning worksheet in Canvas. Note: You’ll see more details about the worksheet in the next section of this guide.

2. Ensure that your project includes the required components: • An animated intro, selected from the Camtasia library • A training overview slide • At least 3 captions that add information value to the learning experience • At least 2 highlight boxes that draw attention to important areas of the screen • A screencast recording that teaches the viewer to do something worthwhile with the selected

software 3. About 10 minutes before the end of class on Tuesday and Thursday, copy your entire project folder

onto the USB drive that the instructor will provide for this purpose. 4. Attend class on both Tuesday and Thursday, and use the full class periods either to work on this

project or to keep learning about Camtasia.

Page 2: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Plan your project and prepare to record Even for a practice project, you need to plan your content, remove visual clutter from your screen, and prepare your content before you begin recording. You should never skip these important preparations.

Note: Unlike the MadCap Flare project, this project does not use sample files. You’ll create all of your own content, and you’ll make your own decisions about many of the actions and options within this guide.

1. Create a folder on the Desktop, and enter your name as the folder name. Note: This step is important because you need to submit your project folder at the end of each class period. You’ll need to copy your entire project folder onto the USB drive that I’ll provide for this purpose.

2. Plan your content for this in-class project by using the provided worksheet: a. Go to Canvas. b. At the bottom of the Home page, in the Camtasia In-Class Project module, select

video_tutorial_plan. c. Download the file. d. Open the file in Word. e. Go to File > Save As, and save the file in the project folder that you created on the Desktop. f. Read the instructions and the examples, and complete the worksheet. g. Go to Canvas, select Completed Planning Worksheet for Camtasia In-Class Project, and submit

the Word file. 3. Prepare any files that you’ll need for the tasks that you’ll demonstrate in the video.

Note: This step is required only if you need files for the training that you’re creating. 4. Practice the tasks several times so that you can do them smoothly when recording. 5. If needed, restore your application(s) and the computer to the appropriate state to begin recording.

Examples: • If you changed any application settings while practicing, restore them to the defaults. • If you edited files while practicing, close them and/or revert to the original files. • If you opened panels or tools while practicing, close them. • If you’ll demo something that requires logging in, log in now so that you don’t reveal your login

credentials while recording. • Open your files so that you don’t waste the viewer’s time in the tutorial by demonstrating basic

tasks such as navigating to and opening files.

Page 3: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Create your project and add a training overview slide In any video tutorial, it’s important to give learners an understanding of what they’ll learn from the training. For this exercise, you’ll enter a short statement of the video’s purpose.

1. Open Camtasia. 2. Select New project. 3. Add a text box to the canvas:

a. In the tools panel, select Annotations. b. Select the Callouts icon, which is the first button in this panel. c. For Style, select Basic.

d. Select the plain, white, rectangular ABC box, and drag it to the canvas.

4. On the canvas, drag the selection handles to resize the box to cover the canvas. 5. In the center of the box, double-click the default text ABC, and then enter a short description of the

purpose of this training video, as shown in this example:

Note: Optionally, you can select the Properties button to display a panel on the right side of the screen, as illustrated. In the text properties, you can change the font, type size, color, style, and alignment.

a.

b.

c.

Page 4: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

6. Above the timeline, select + to increase the zoom, and keep increasing it until you see increments of 2 seconds, as illustrated.

7. Position your mouse pointer on the right side of the Callout, and drag it so that it is 4-seconds wide,

as illustrated:

8. Save the file in the folder that you created on the Desktop.

a. Go to File, select Save as, and then go to the folder that you created on the Desktop. b. Enter a filename that includes your name and the phrase Camtasia Project, such as Jane Smith

Camtasia Project. c. Select OK.

Note: If a confirmation message appears after you save the file, select OK.

Page 5: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Record your training tasks Now you’re ready to record. For this in-class project, you won’t be using a camera or a microphone, so you need to change those settings before you begin to record. You’ll start recording by selecting a button, and you’ll end by using a keyboard shortcut.

Note: If you make minor mistakes while recording, remember what was said in the training videos about pausing, repeating, and (later) editing. Also remember what was said about ending a recording and starting over.

1. In the top left corner of the screen, select Record. Note: There is often a delay of 10 to 30 seconds before the capture panel appears.

2. Change Recorded inputs to Camera off and Audio off.

3. Go to the application that you want to use for this recording. 4. When you’re ready to start recording, select the Rec button. 5. Wait for the countdown, and then do the tasks as you planned them.

Note: If you need to pause recording, select the F9 key to pause. When you’re ready to resume, select the F9 key.

6. When you’re ready to stop recording, count to three (to leave some buffer at the end of the file), and then select the F10 key to stop recording.

7. Drag the recording from the media bin to the timeline, so that it is positioned right next to the Callout on Track 1.

Play your recording, plan your captions and highlight boxes, and edit As a best practice, you should always preview a new recording to see if any editing is needed. For this project, you’re required to add at least 3 captions and at least 2 highlight boxes, so you also should think about those requirements while viewing the playback.

1. In the playback controls below the canvas, select Play to play your recording. 2. As you watch the playback, identify the places where you want to insert the 3 required captions and

2 required highlight boxes. Note: The timestamp appears next to the play head in the timeline.

Page 6: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

If needed, you can take the following types of actions: • To pause the playback: Select Pause. • To start playing from a particular point on the timeline: Drag the playhead to that point, and

then select Play. • To jump to the end of the timeline: Select >. • To jump to the beginning of the timeline: Select <. • To cut a segment from the beginning of the recording: Position your cursor at the left edge of

the recording, and then drag right. • To cut a segment from the end of the recording: Position your cursor at the right edge of the

recording, and then drag left. • To cut a segment from the middle of the recording:

a. Move the green handle on the playhead to the beginning of the section. b. Move the red handle on the playhead to the end of the section. c. Select Play to review the selected section. d. Adjust the handles as needed until you have selected the section that you want to remove. e. Select the Cut icon near the top left corner of the timeline.

Add a caption Whether a video tutorial includes audio or not, captions are helpful to learners. Use them to reinforce key points in the training tasks, to provide more details, to offer tips, and so on. You saw a number of captions in the sample video.

Camtasia includes many options for formatting captions. Feel free to experiment and to format your three required captions in different ways.

1. Drag the playhead to a place where you want to insert a caption. Note: It doesn’t have to be exact. You can move it later.

2. Explore the options for captions: a. In the tools panel, select Annotations. b. Select the Callouts icon, which is the first button in this panel.

Page 7: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

c. For Style, select All.

3. Select a callout style, and then drag the callout to the canvas, wherever you want it to appear. 4. Format the caption:

a. Above the right end of the timeline, select the Properties button. b. Change the text style and the shape style, as you wish.

a.

b.

c.

Text Shape

Page 8: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Note: Things can disappear, depending on what is selected in the timeline. • If you accidentally select a blank area of the timeline, the properties disappear. To restore the

display, simply select the object again. • If an object is selected in the timeline but does not appear on the canvas, double-click it in the

timeline. 5. Enter the text that you want to appear in this caption. 6. In the timeline, notice that the caption has been added on a new track.

Note: You might need to scroll up in the timeline to see it. 7. Drag the playhead to a position before this caption, select Play to see when and how it appears, and

then select Pause. Note: If needed, you can adjust the timing of the caption on the timeline. • To make the caption appear for more time, position your mouse on the end of the caption and

drag right to make it wider. • To make the caption appear for less time, position your mouse on the end of the caption and

drag left to make it narrower. • To adjust where the caption appears in the timeline, select the caption and then drag it to an

earlier or later position in the track. • To view the changes, repeat this step.

8. (Optional) Apply a behavior to the caption. a. In the tools panel, select Behavior. b. Select a behavior, and drag it on top of the caption in the timeline. c. Drag the playhead to a position before this caption, select Play to see when and how this

behavior appears, and then select Pause. Note: If you want to remove a behavior, right-click on the caption, and then select Remove > All effects.

9. Save your work. Note: At least 3 captions are required for this project.

Add a highlight box Camtasia provides many ways to draw your users’ attention to things that you want to emphasize. In this exercise, you’ll add a highlight box. It’s simply a rectangle that you’ll position around a significant area of the screen, such as a menu or a button that is selected during a procedure. At least two highlight boxes are required for this project.

1. Drag the playhead to the place where you want to insert a highlight box. 2. Explore the options for shapes:

a. In the tools panel, select Annotations. b. Select the Callouts icon, which is the first button in this panel.

Page 9: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

c. For Style, select All.

3. Select the rectangle with a white outline and a black center, drag it to the canvas, and position it

wherever you want it to appear. 4. Format the rectangle:

a. Select the Properties button. b. Change the color of the outline to a color that will show up well on the screen.

5. In the timeline, notice that the shape has been added on a new track. Note: You might need to scroll up to see it.

6. Drag the playhead to a position before this shape, select Play to see when and how it appears, and then select Pause. Note: If needed, you can adjust the timing of the shape on the timeline. • To make the shape appear for more time, position your mouse on the end of the shape and drag

right to make it wider. • To make the shape appear for less time, position your mouse on the end of the shape and drag

left to make it narrower. • To adjust where the shape appears in the timeline, select the shape and then drag it to an

earlier or later position in the track. • To view the changes, repeat this step.

7. Save your work. Note: At least 2 highlight boxes are required for this project.

a.

b.

c.

Page 10: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Add an intro to your video Intros and outros give a more professional appearance to your video. For this assignment, an intro is required. You’ll use a built-in intro and customize the text.

1. Set up the timeline to allow space for the intro: a. In the playback controls, select < to move the playhead to the beginning of the video. b. Select any object in the timeline. c. Select Ctrl+A to select all objects in the timeline. d. Drag your mouse to the right so that all of the objects move to the right and there is a blank

space from 0:00:00;00 to 0:00:04;00, as illustrated.

2. Choose an intro:

a. In the tools panel, select Library. b. Select Intros. c. To explore your options, double-click an intro to see a preview, and then select the X in the top

right corner of the preview panel to close it. You can repeat this step as many times as you like, until you find an intro that you want to use. Be sure to close the preview panel before proceeding.

d. Drag the selected intro into the blank space at the beginning of the timeline. Note: For now, don’t worry which track it’s on.

3. As needed, resize and reposition the intro. a. If the intro is wider than the 4-second space that you created earlier, position your mouse

pointer on the right end of the intro and drag left until it is 4 seconds wide. b. Drag the intro to the blank space at the beginning of Track 1.

Note: There’s no particular reason to put it on Track 1, but it’s one way to organize your timeline.

4. With the intro selected in the timeline (as indicated by an orange border), select Properties (if it’s not already selected), and then enter your own title to replace the default text in the selected intro.

Page 11: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Note: You can leave the other fields blank, or enter text. The fields vary for different intros.

5. Save your project. 6. Preview your video to ensure that you’ve done everything that you intended to do:

a. In the playback controls, select < to move the playhead to the beginning of the timeline. b. Select Play to view the project from start to finish. c. If needed, edit the video.

Check your project and publish it At this point, you’ve almost completed your basic training in Camtasia. Now you need to make sure that your project meets the requirements, and then you can publish it, view it, and then submit your work. Feel free to loop back through any procedures, as needed, before you submit your files.

1. Verify that your project includes the required components: • An animated intro, selected from the Camtasia library • A training overview slide • At least 3 captions that add information value to the learning experience • At least 2 highlight boxes that draw attention to important areas of the screen • A screencast video that teaches the viewer to do something worthwhile with the selected

software 2. Go to the Share menu, and then select Local file. 3. On the first four pages of the wizard, select Next to keep the displayed settings.

You’ll see the pages listed below. Do not make any changes. • Welcome page • File format page • Smart player page • Video options

Page 12: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

4. On the Output file page, select the folder icon, and then select the project folder that you created on the Desktop.

Note: Before proceeding, make sure that the selected Folder is your project folder that you placed on the Desktop. Remember, to receive more than 0 points for this project, all of the required files need to be in your project folder, and you need to copy the project folder to the USB drive that the instructor provides for this purpose.

5. Select Finish. A progress message appears while the project is rendered. Then a web browser is launched.

6. When the preview appears in your web browser, select the Play button to play the video. Note: If you see anything that needs to be changed, you can make further edits and then repeat this procedure to update the output.

7. On the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, select the Camtasia icon. 8. Select Finish to close the results box.

Note: You can continue to work on the project, as needed.

Page 13: Camtasia In-Class Project · Camtasia In-Class Project . Camtasia makes it easy to record video tutorials and to add extras such as intros, outros, captions, and highlight boxes.

Remember to copy your project folder to the USB drive before the end of class each day.

At the beginning of class on Thursday, drag your folder from the USB drive to the Desktop.

Submit the required files for this assignment At least 10 minutes before the end of class on Thursday:

1. Save all of your work. 2. Copy your project folder onto the USB drive that the instructor will provide for this purpose.

Note: If you did not complete the project in the required time, talk to the instructor. If needed, you can copy your project folder onto your own USB or cloud drive and finish the project by working in the TECM Lab. You must discuss the situation with the instructor before you leave class on Thursday.

What if you finish your project with time to spare on Thursday? As you read earlier in this guide, to receive more than 0 points for this project, you must use the full class time on both days to work on this project and to learn about Camtasia. When you finish the required tasks, use the time to keep learning!

Suggestions:

• Create a new project, and explore different features as you edit it. • Read Camtasia Help articles: https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/sections/360000071111-

Camtasia-2018-Help For each article that you read, go into Canvas and try out the tasks that you read about.

• Explore the TechSmith blog: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/ • Read TechSmith case studies: https://www.techsmith.com/customer-stories.html

Note: Some articles are about other TechSmith products. • Read TechSmith research on the value of visual communication: https://www.techsmith.com/visual-

communication-research.html