Using captivate movies to enhance student skills with professional tools

Student use of professional tools in applied computer science courses can be a two edged sword. Potential productivity gains can be significantly offset by equally substantial learning curves. Some tools merely document features. While other tools may provide extensive documentation and examples, initial student exposure to the wealth of information can be daunting. Instructor demonstrations and directed laboratories are two means of jump-starting the learning process. This tutorial demonstrates how Captivate, an inexpensive screen capture program, can be used to create movies designed to teach students how to productively use new, complex tools. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own Captivate movie.