Screencast-o-Matic is a free screen casting program. It’s super simple to use. It’s supposed to work directly from their web site, if your java is up-to-date, however, you also have the choice to download it. I had a bit of trouble using their online version, but found the download version really quick and simple. The program has worked flawlessly.

After opening the program from your Start Menu, click the red button to start recording and a Done button will appear to the right while the red button changes to blue. Click the blue button to pause and click the Done button when you are finished.  Your movie can be up to 15 minutes long.

You can upload to:

• Screencast-o-matic
• YouTube
• Publish to Video File (download to your computer)

The file type choices are:

• MP4
• FLV
• AVI

The Recording Area

The recording area is indicated by a rectangle which you can size by choosing a predetermined size or you can drag from the corners to get the exact size you want. While you are recording you can move the recording screen about, so instead of moving a window into your recording area, you can move the recording area over to the window that opened up outside your view. I prefer to open my files and size them in advance so I know they will open to the size I want in the place I want, but still, at times, something unexpected happens and it could be useful to move the recording area to another part of the monitor.

Webcams or external cameras

If you attach a camera to your computer or have a built in webcam you can have that record at the same time. During the recording the webcam movie is outside the rectangle area of your screencast. However, when you preview the film you see the webcam within the rectangle and can resize and position it for the best effect for your finished movie.

The Pro Version for $15

There are some extra features if you want to upgrade to the $15 a year Pro version, including removing the Screencast-o-Matic watermark on the finished video, uploading to Google Drive and Vimeo, and some editing and scripting features. That’s pretty reasonable for all that is offered.

I have used the free version without the extras and find it delightfully easy without a learning curve of any sort.