Screenleap for Education: Engaging students in learning!
This post is sponsored by Screenleap. All opinions are my own.
When it comes to technology, we must first consider our purpose or the “why” behind using a specific tool or platform. We must leverage technology in a way that helps to empower students, to promote student choice and voice in the classroom, and to enhance learning in ways that otherwise may not be possible.
Personally, when I consider the possibilities for my classroom, I look for any gaps in my instruction or in a student’s ability to access the class resources that I provide. One area that I am focusing on is helping the students who miss class, or who need additional help with the material. Finding a common time to work with students can be a challenge; however, with a tool like Screenleap, the time constraint disappears. See my prior post for an overview of Screenleap.
Why use Screenleap?
Screenleap offers a simple solution. For teachers, it provides a better way to focus on and track student engagement in the lesson. For students, it fosters more agency in learning as they can access the recordings for their own review and class preparation. Getting started with Screenleap is easy. Once you create your classes, you can start screen sharing with your students in no time at all. You don’t have to worry about installing software or manually saving your recordings. Everything gets recorded directly to the cloud and is available to students at any time.
Do you worry about having devices that are compatible with Screenleap? No need to worry as Screenleap can be used on a PC, Mac, Chromebooks, Android, and iOS devices. Students can follow along while in class or if they are absent from school. They can even review the recording at a more convenient time. Keeping up with classes has never been easier!
How to get students started
- If your school uses an (LMS), you can simply export your classes and students in a CSV format and import the list into Screenleap.
- Students can be manually added to a class by entering their name, email, and a password. (Not necessary with Google email accounts).
3. Once students are registered in the class, simply direct them to the Login page, where they can enter their email and password, or use Google Sign In.
4. Once logged in, students can then select from View Live Class or View Recordings.
5. Students will be immediately taken to your screen! The lesson can begin right away.
Sign up for Screenleap here.
What do students think?
When I try out a new tool in my classroom, I am always excited to see how the students respond. It was fun trying Screenleap for the first time. When my students logged in and clicked Live Class, they were amazed at what was happening. They could not only see my screen but could hear themselves in the background. It was exciting to see how easily I could share my screen with students and how quickly they could access the live share or the recordings. The difference that it makes is quite impressive.
Students often comment that they can’t see the SMART Board from the back of the room. Being able to share my screen on their devices made it a more engaging way to learn — and the best part is that it required very little time to set up.
Benefits for teachers and students
When it comes to teaching, there are so many things that we need to consider as part of our instruction and class preparation. Here are some of the ways that using Screenleap will enhance your instruction and the learning experience of your students:
- It’s easy for students to follow along with the lesson. As a result, they become more engaged in the lesson activities.
- Students can use the recordings to prepare for exams or to simply review when it is convenient for them.
- It provides a way for teachers to deliver instruction, even when away from the classroom!
- It’s an opportunity to share teaching resources with colleagues, promoting collaboration and professional learning opportunities.
- It’s a great way for teachers to reflect on their teaching methods!
Ideas for your classroom
One of the reasons that I really like Screenleap is that it gives me an easy way to plan ahead for when I might be out of my classroom. For example, there are days where I might only be present in school to teach one class period of my two Spanish I courses. With Screenleap, I can now share the recording with my students. Students then have instant access to the instructional piece. Rather than having to reteach the lesson the next day, students can view the recording and save our class time for a quick review instead. Even though I’m not there, they can still proceed with the lesson and control the pace of the lesson as well.
Another idea is to use Screenleap to create short follow-up recordings based on student questions or responses. Teachers can gather the ideas from one class or even common questions across multiple classes they teach. Teachers can then use this information to create a short lesson in response to student input. While there are other tools to choose from, the benefit of using Screenleap is that students can access it right away without worrying about logins or having multiple different tools to access.
When it comes to our practice, reflecting on our lessons is critical. Being able to look at the level of engagement of our students helps us to see where in the lesson we are reaching each student. If students navigate away from the screen, we can then explore why we might be losing their interest. Whether tracking engagement during a live share or looking at the overall engagement in recordings, this information is easy to obtain through Screenleap.
These are just some of the many ways to use Screenleap in your classroom, or as part of your own professional development. For example, use Screenleap to develop and share lessons you create with colleagues and members of your PLN (Personal and Professional Learning Network). Because Screenleap is so easy to use, recording a lesson ahead of time for later use can be a great idea! I think that students would benefit from creating their own lesson to share with classmates, too. Developing student skills in the content while also building vital technology skills will be highly beneficial for their future.
Check out the Screenleap blog for updates and get started today. Click here to find out how easy it is to use!
