Teachers and students use class videos as a tool for lectures and homework assignments. Flipped classrooms student video projects, and lecture recording for virtual learning are essential to the blended learning model.
With over 40 million Chromebooks used in education, it’s vital to know the apps available and how to record your screen. Which Chrome browser extensions (icons in the address bar after extension added) offer a decent screen recorder for Chromebook? Are external screencasting tools the only options for Chromebook, or is there a built-in screen recorder?
The Best Screen Recorder For Chromebook- 3 Screen Recording Tools Compared
Screencast-O-Matic Launcher For Chromebook
Screencast-O-Matic has a Chrome extension for Chromebook downloadable from the Google Chrome Web Store. You will find the added extension on the top right of the address bar. The app is free for all users, and the Deluxe or Premier plan unlocks video editing tools. The free version allows for an unlimited number of video captures with a 15-minute recording time; record your screen, webcam, or both.
The screen recorder app includes drawing tools that customize the color and line width and the option of recording your voice or the sound from the Chromebook speakers.
The video editing tool features include cut-and-trim anywhere in the timeline, customize cropping, presets for social media sharing, import music, a stock library with music, images, stickers, and videos, blur overlay sensitive content, add rich text to videos, and pre-set filters.
Save the video content directly to Google Drive or as a video file on your computer. Built-in sharing options allow students and teachers to upload their videos to YouTube or Screencast-O-Matic. The premier package includes advanced recording, video editing, cloud hosting with sharable links and embed codes for websites, and secure backup. The video hosting features include attaching notes to a specific timecode, re-editing hosted videos fixing mistakes, and channel recorder for interactive classes.
The channel recorder is a video recorder added to the specific channel, making it easy for the teacher and students to record data related to the channel’s purpose, for example, a project the learners work on together, a science experiment, or a step-by-step lecture process.
The free app offers enough for most school assignments. Still, if you want additional features like advanced editing, unlimited recording times, and more hosting recording, you need to subscribe to one of the paid versions.
Screencastify Screen Video Recorder For Chromebook
Screencastify, the number one installed Google Chrome screen recorder, is a user-friendly screen recording tool, and it has a free app for Chromebooks. After you’ve added the Chrome extension, tap the Screencastify icon in the Chrome browser address bar to open the recording tool at the top right corner.
Screencastify offers free unlimited recordings up to five minutes, which is sufficient most of the time, and the free screen recordings are without watermarks.
The microphone option allows you to narrate over the recording and the embed webcam feature gives your video a personal touch. When ready, click the blue button and start your recording. Annotation tools include a spotlight on the mouse and the ability to draw on the Chromebook screen.
If the webcam blocks a part of the screen you need, you can toggle the webcam on and off or change the size and the location of the webcam. Record the entire desktop, a webcam capture, or the current browser tab. The free video editor features cut, crop, and joining screencasts together. Videos autosave to Google Drive, where you can rename the video.
Copy the video link, share the video, or publish the video files directly to YouTube. Premium version subscribers can export the video file as an MP4, MP3 audio file, or animated GIF.
Built-In Chromebook Screen Recorder For Chrome OS
The Chrome OS 89 comes with the Google built-in screen recording tool. The user-friendly app is easy to use; people do not need previous recording or image capture experience. The Google screen capture app to Chrome OS allows screen recording with or without audio and includes taking screenshots. You don’t need to download an extension, additional apps or invest in extra hardware.
Record Your Screen With The Built-In Screen Capture Tool
- You’ll find the screen capture icon in the bottom right corner of the Chrome window in the main tray or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S. (If it’s not there, first enable the flag.)
- Select capture for a screenshot or press the record button to record a video.
- Choose the entire screen, partial screen or, window. For a partial screenshot, click and drag to select the area. For the entire screen, simply click anywhere on the screen to record.
- When you press the record button, a 3-second countdown precedes the recording; the countdown gives you those few seconds of breathing space before the action.
- Press the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Show windows to access more screenshot features.
- The built-in screen recording feature gives you the option of recording with or without audio. Click the gear icon to switch the microphone on for audio recording or off if you prefer no audio.
- Click the red stop button when you finished your recording.
- Files automatically save in the Downloads folder. Access the recent screen captures from the shelf in the bottom right corner or view the recording in the files app by clicking on the Show in folder. Select the video file to watch, share, delete, or save to Google Drive.
- The built-in screen recorder feature is compatible with Google Workspaces apps; the videos save in WebM format files and screenshots as PNG format images.
The Google screen capture app works well for a basic screenshot and recording but has editing limitations. Third-party apps like Screen-O-Matic and Screencastify screen recording feature capturing a webcam as an inset video, storing and exporting files in different formats, and editing with the video editor tool. Other browser extensions to consider are Loom Video Recorder for Chrome, Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder, Screen Recorder, or Clipchamp, a free online video editor.
Which chrome web store extension do you use, or do you prefer the convenience of the built-in screen recorder and video player for Chromebooks?