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Foundation English Lecturer, Alaeddin
Halwani, presented a workshop on Screen
-O-Matic on March 25th, at Qatar Univer-
sity. This workshop was offered by the
Center for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning (CETL).
Screen-O-Matic, Halwani explained, is an
online screen recorder for instant screen
capture and video recording. It allows an
instructor or student to overdub a narra-
tion of what is happening onscreen.
Screen-O-Matic then creates a link so that
the screen recording can be easily shared
or posted on Blackboard.
Screen-O-Matic is wonderful tool for
online tutorials. It enables instructors to
use the computer’s webcam to open a
box which shows them talking as they
work on the larger screen. In addition, it
allows instructors to comment on stu-
dents’ work by using the curser to high-
light, underline, or draw circles around
anything happening onscreen. Instructors
can also easily edit and combine videos.
Screen-O-Matic is excellent for video an-
nouncements and student assignments.
Instructors can require students to create
screencasts in response to specific ques-
tions or as a formative assessment of an
ongoing project.
As Halwani ex-
plained, having the
opportunity to cre-
ate something is
“motivating for
students”. Why not
give Screen-O-
Matic a try?
Professional Development: Screencast-O-Matic
David Alan Pearson, Lecturer of English, Foundation Program
Contact Us
Men’s Foundation Building (A06)
Women’s Foundation Building (D05)
P.O. Box 2713
Doha
Qatar
Phone:
E-Mail:
Website:
Qatar University Foundation Program
Photograph: Courtesy of David John
Bartsch
@qufoundation
Heat Stress
Wedad Khaled Maatouk, Teaching Assistant of English, Foundation Program
The Foundation Program’s
Health & Safety Committee
would like to ensure the safety
and wellbeing of our faculty
and staff during the summer. In
an effort to raise awareness,
the committee would like to
briefly explain heat stress and
share some helpful tips to
avoid any serious health prob-
lems.
Heat stress occurs when the
body cannot cool itself enough
to maintain a healthy tempera-
ture. When your body sweats a
lot under hot conditions, the
body does not have enough
water to cool itself. This usually
results in dehydration and a
rise in body temperature.
Symptoms of heat stress can
then develop. These symptoms
can range from minor discom-
fort to severe medical condi-
tions such as heat rash, heat
cramps, heat exhaustion, and
heat stroke.
Heat stress is mainly prevented
by drinking water. However,
wearing light, loose clothing,
wearing sunglasses and hats,
applying sunscreen with an
SPF of at least 15, and staying
in the shade can also help.
Photograph from Nastco/iStock/
Thinkstock
Alaeddin Halwani: Pho-
tograph courtesy of
David Alan Pearson