Task Type: Screen Recording
Screen Recording is an extension of the Multimedia Task that allows a participant to record their computer screen while capturing audio-commentary. Participants can submit and annotate multiple screen recordings as a single response.
One great aspect of this feature is that a screen recording does not require participants to download and install software. It also does not require that participants install browser add-ons like Chrome and Firefox extensions.
Screen recording does require that participants use the desktop version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari. It will not function on mobile devices as mobile web browsers do not support screen sharing. Learn more about browser requirements in the section below.
Browser Requirements
Screen recording in Recollective makes use of a built-in capability of modern web browsers to capture a screen, not unlike a browser's ability to connect with the computer's webcam.
Not all browsers support screen sharing but support is increasing. Four major desktop browsers are currently available on all platforms which do offer support:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Apple Safari
Task Setup
Enabling the Screen Recording response type in a Multimedia Task (or selecting Screen Recording from the Task Type menu) is similar to the other media response types.
If you plan on having your participants navigate to an external URL before recording their screen, you can add that URL to the Starting Address field. Participants will then be able to select the Share Screen button to simultaneously start their screen recording and send them to the URL you have specified at the same time. Participants will just need to select the screen they would like to share before clicking the Get Started button. Since the button will open the URL in a new tab, the participant will need to display their current screen or window.
You can use the Limit quantity and Limit duration options to set desired minimum and / or maximum values for the number and / or length of submissions. Enabling Allow screen recording descriptions also allows you to choose to make them required and customize the description prompt.
Task Completion
When participants respond to a Multimedia Task with Screen Recording enabled, the Share Screen option will appear:
If the participant is using an unsupported browser, a warning will appear with links to the supported browsers.
If no Starting Address is specified on the Task Setup page
Once Share Screen is selected,the browser will ask the participant to select a browser tab, window or screen to share.
Once selected, pressing the Share button will then start the recording.
If a Starting Address was specified on the Task Setup page
When navigating to the task, a message will surface indicating participants are to select their current screen or browser window when prompted.
Once the participant clicks Share Screen to select the correct browser window or screen and opts to Get Started, they will then be redirected to the URL automatically and the recording will begin.
Saving a Recording
Once the participant is ready to stop screen recording, they can select Stop recording from their screen or click the red Pause button to access the integrated recorder options. From there, they will be able to Start Over, Play the recording back, Continue recording or Save.
Upon saving the recording, the video will be processed for playback. At this point, the participant can safely move on to submit an additional recording or proceed to the next Task.
The recorded video will appear once it is processed if the participant waits for the processing to be completed (although this is not required).
Note that any audio captured during the screen recording will be automatically transcribed like all other video submissions. This transcription is only visible to the Study administrators.
For more information on how you can leverage the Screen Recording Task type within your research, make sure to check out our Spotlight: Screen Recording Task blog article!