There are a lot of amazing tools available now for educators to use. Whether it’s a great publication creator or a graphics program or something for the classroom, they are ready for us and usually not expensive or even free. But sometimes, it’s the simplest tools that make me smile. Today, I discovered a very basic screenshot tool that I simply love.
Really? Screenshots?
I know. You’re saying what is there to get excited about a tool that just creates screenshots. But if you’re like me and you routinely create TONS of screeenshots each day for training, then you will love this new resource.
I had been using the Microsoft Snipping Tool to create the images I use for my handouts and webinars. And it’s still a fantastic resource. But if I wanted to get an image of an entire web page, it was a little hard to manipulate. And, because it is a separate program, I always had to struggle a little to make sure I could see it and whatever I was taking a picture of at the same time.
Screenshot Guru
Screenshot Guru is a website and so doesn’t have to be downloaded or installed, although it does offer a Chrome extension that you can add. It’s designed specifically to create images from entire web pages and Twitter. You simply enter the URL, check that you’re not a robot, and click Screen Capture. Then right-click to save the resulting PNG image.
Below is an example of one of TCEA’s tweets. You can see that it automatically adds how and when the screenshot was taken, as well as providing the original URL. This can be great for helping make sure students are citing their sources.
If you use Screenshot Guru on a web page, it automatically takes a picture of the entire web page, regardless of how long it is. And it does that without making you scroll down. This is excellent for those of us who are a little spastic! The website cannot capture web pages that require login (like your Gmail mailbox), pages with Flash embeds (like the YouTube video player), or AJAX-based sites like Google Maps.
The older I get, the more I am thrilled by simplicity. Screenshot Guru is very simple and easy to use and does exactly what I want it to do. That’s a definite win in my book!
