Have you ever tried to explain how to do something on the computer to someone remotely and wished that you could just show them what they needed to do? There are solutions that exist to actually connect you to someone else’s computer so that you can literally perform the procedure yourself, but another way in which things can be explained and demonstrated is through screencasts. You’ve surely seen a few of these computer video presentations online, but you can also easily create them yourself. I’ve used expensive software to do this in the past, however, all that you need to get started is provided on the Internet for free through Screencast-O-Matic.

This online service enables you to create a screencast straight from your browser, and for anyone with basic needs, Screencast-O-Matic will prove to be sufficient. Just select the size of the area that you want to record, include some real-time narration, add notes of interest to specific parts of the recorded screencast in order to assist with navigation, and then either download the screencast as a QuickTime movie or upload it to the site so that it can be seen and shared by everyone.