Starting a new screen recording is simple. You open Wink and use the project properties dialog box to specify which object or area on your desktop you want to capture.
Specify what to capture by designating exact pixel coordinates, specifying a specific size rectangle, or choosing an open window.
Set how many frames per second to capture and what action – mouse click or key press - triggers Wink to start capturing when you take that action.
You work within the application you’re recording as Wink is capturing what you do. Wink does its work behind the scenes; the Wink program is waiting in the system tray until you need to stop recording.
With the events on screen captured, Wink saves the recording and presents each frame of the video to you as an individual object you can edit.
The Properties panel gives you access to all of the individual frame objects as well as properties that affect all of the frames of the video. You set how long each frame is displayed, change the cursor shape, and add text callouts.
With the editing complete, Wink converts the recording to an .SWF file you can play in any browser or application, including PowerPoint, that supports Flash or the Shockwave file format.
You show Wink recordings in PowerPoint by inserting a ShockWave object. You’ll find step-by-step instructions in Add Flash to a PowerPoint Presentation.
Wink does not have the sophisticated editing or creative tools found in Flash itself or in other screen recorders like Techsmith’s Camtasia or Macromedia’s Captivate.
But it also lacks their price tag! Captivate is $499 per license and Camtasia is $447.95 per license. Wink is free.
The Wink product page at Debugmode has a short demo of Wink.
Download Wink" from the DeBugmode site. Versions are available for Windows and Linux with GTK 2.4 or higher.
Download a Windows version directly from Snapfiles.
The Wink User Forum is a great resource for asking questions of Wink users. It also includes links to examples of what others have done with Wink.
Give Wink a try, and see if adding product demonstrations to tutorials doesn't help your students learn better.
