Awesome video creator presents some privacy concerns.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Products & Purchases
some
Contests and promotions appear on the app's main screen. Google, Twitter, Instagram, and other websites and applications are promoted within the app. Although making purchases is not encouraged, promoting videos and sharing information about the app with friends is.
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
The app does not promote drinking, drugs, or smoking, but related content may appear when Twitter feeds, Google News highlights, or other feeds are included in a video.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Inappropriate or crude language may appear when information from outside sources appears within the app. For example, language issues may show up in a Twitter feed or in an Instagram photo.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Violence is not promoted, but, with the inclusion of recent tweets as well as items from Google News and other outside feeds, it is possible for violent content to appear in projects.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Arrows and short descriptions point out key features and guide users in creating their first videos. Sample videos and video tutorials provide support, too. When they're ready to create a video, users can quickly figure out what to do. Users are limited to five minutes per TouchCast and one hour of video uploads.
Educational Value
a lot
Kids can learn how to turn their ideas and knowledge into professional videos with TouchCast. Templates and vApps require them to determine how to best display their content, and time limits require them to be concise. Adding in current events and social networking brings a whole new dimension to the videos and helps kids see the topics of their videos in a new light. With so many social elements involved, kids also learn how to safely present information online and avoid oversharing. With parental supervision, TouchCast can be a fantastic creative tool for teens to present information.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that TouchCast is a cool video app that allows users to create professional-looking videos incorporating elements from multiple sources. The app requires users to be at least 13 years old, and teens under 18 need a parent's permission to use the app. Other TouchCast users can view and leave comments on videos not marked as "local," so there are some privacy concerns. There's also the potential for kids to encounter iffy content on the app, but TouchCast's community guidelines discourage sexually explicit content, violence, and hate speech.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Skills:
Creativity
:
imagination,
innovation,
producing new content,
Emotional Development
:
perspective taking,
Communication
:
conveying messages effectively,
multiple forms of expression,
presenting,
speaking,
Responsibility & Ethics
:
following codes of conduct,
making wise decisions,
Tech Skills
:
digital creation,
social media,
using and applying technology
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
