Jing is a free program that allows you to create annotated screenshots and narrated screencasts (“movies” of anything you can show on your screen, with your voice-over narration). Jing screencasts can be up to five minutes long, which makes it ideal for online instruction. Jing works with word processed documents, spreadsheets, websites … anything you can show on your computer screen.

Instructors can use Jing screencasts to provide mini-lectures, feedback on student work, web-tours, demonstrations of software, assignment directions, online course orientations, or any time they would like to bring their voice to the online classroom. Students do not need special software to view Jing videos; any modern web browser will display the videos. Jing is a great way to bring life to an online class!

Jing works in partnership with Screencast.com, a site that provides free storage (2GB of storage and 2GB of monthly bandwidth). You record with Jing, upload to Screencast, and then share the image or video with the link Screencast provides. (There’s even an option to get an “embed” link if you wish to embed the video on a webpage.)

Once you download Jing, you’ll have the Jing Sun on your desktop, an easy-t0-use interface that hangs out at the edge of your screen, ready to help you create an annotated screenshot or narrated screencast video.

Jing is easy to use, and both Jing and Screencast are free. You can download Jing at http://www.techsmith.com/jing/. Register your Screencast account at http://screencast.com/.