Parents' Guide to

TouchCast Studio

By Stacy Zeiger, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Awesome video creator presents some privacy concerns.

App iPad Free Photo & Video
TouchCast Studio Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

bradbeck
bradbeck Adult
January 15, 2016
age 14+

Great for Creating a Public Service Announcement

TouchCast has a variety of recording and editing features, but can still appeal to the novice user. Students can easily edit the order of video clips with the drag of a finger, seamless insert vapps (video apps) such as images, charts, webpages and more. I've personally used TouchCast with 7th graders to create a health-related, collaborative public service announcement and they loved it. Be sure to provide a brief tutorial of basic features before letting students use TouchCast; this will avoid confusion and/or frustration. Pros: Editing is easy, supports the import of video clips and audio, green screen feature is very easy to use. Cons: Wealth of features may overwhelm some, interface can be confusing (practice using it first, watch tutorials).

This title has:

Easy to play/use
MrsCrawford1998
MrsCrawford1998 Adult
January 11, 2015
age 15+

Touchcast supports the highest level of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Because Touchcast is easy to use and allows for remixing of content, it is a great video creation site. It is also very easy to share creations with a wider audience. For this reason, I would not recommend allowing young children to publish videos, although they create videos that remain locally on the device. Beyond privacy concerns, the current platform constricting of only on an iPad or a PC desktop are also a concern. Although Touchcast will work with an iPad 2, it works best with newest versions of iPads.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
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What’s It About?

Sample videos and tutorials help you see what formats and features are available with TOUCHCAST. Then, it's time to create a video. Choose to create a breaking newscast, a travel diary, a how-to video, or a theme that's uniquely your own. When it's time to create your video, you do more than just hit the record button. In addition to your own content, you can choose from a variety of vApps to add to the video. For example, you can add a Facebook page, Twitter feed, or news ticker to the side of the screen. You can also write on top of the video using the whiteboard feature and add special video and sound effects. Once finished, save the video privately or opt to make it public and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

TouchCast is cool. Really cool. It's not just about recording a video; it's about all the extra features included. Choosing a fun theme for the video is just the start. Users can make their videos more interesting by adding Twitter feeds and Google News tickers. They can use the green-screen option to put themselves in front of unique backgrounds or add a teleprompter to help them remember what they want to say. When they're finished, they can share it with their friends or even with the world. The ability to bring in additional content, such as Google News or Twitter feeds, as well as the ability to share the videos, introduces privacy concerns and could expose users to inappropriate content. If properly supervised, however, teens can create some pretty awesome videos.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Watch your teen's videos, offering suggestions for improvement or asking questions about the content.

  • Talk with teens about how to use TouchCast safely, including showing them how to save their videos as "local" instead of "public" and discussing the issues that arise from sharing videos with the world.

App Details

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