GIF's are great for explaining what you mean!

Over the last few months I have been experimenting with different ways to create short, quick tech tips for my teachers. I have tried video tutorials, emails, hyperdocs, interactive PDF's (more to follow on some of these) and most recently started experimenting with GIF's.

Now, I have used GIF's before, but have always found them slightly cumbersome to create. then last week, after reading about LOOPY on Lifehacker, I discovered a tool that makes creating a GIF super easy.

Licecap let's you record any area on your screen (like many popular screencasting apps do) and outputs to GIF format immediately. You can decide on how many frames per second you want the playback to be (this will have an impact on how smooth it will appear, at the cost of increased file size) and also the size of the window you want to capture.

The response I have had from teachers has been VERY positive. As an example, I had sent out some written instructions on how to change the view in Outlook. One teacher struggled, but after sending a GIF demonstrating how to do it, she managed it without a hitch. She emailed back straight away with a massive thank you!


How do you use GIF's to enhance your teaching?

Let me know in the comments below.

'till next time.