Using Screencastify to Record a Book Review

Recently a teacher asked me for advice on how to have students share a book review using their Chromebooks.  We decided to have students complete a simple "Powerpoint" presentation using Google Presentation.  The first slide would have the student's name and the title of the book they were reviewing.  The second slide (and third, if necessary) would have 3-5 bullets explaining what the book was about and whether or not they would recommend it to their classmates.

These particular students had already created a few Google Presentations before, and got right to work.  In the mean time, I added an extension on each of their Chromebooks called Screencastify.  This extension allows students to create a screencast.  Wikipedia defines a screencast as "a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as video screen capture, often containing audio narration."  Using this simple tool and some sound effects from YouTube, students created a screencast of their book review.

Here is one student's book review:

The students were so eager to share their book reviews with their classmates.  The principal is even considering posting this latest project on the school website.  What fun we had!  The best part?  The project only took 30 minutes from start to finish!