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Screencasts are too Long!

ryanwade's picture
Submitted by ryanwade on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 7:27pm

Screencasts--like the majority of videos on-line--are just too long.  People want things quickly on the Internet.  In thinking about the pros and cons of screencasts over more traditional HTML library guides I'm afraid that screencasts can quickly become lost on patrons.  Especially students.

When you need to figure out how to do something, you want to do it, not learn how to do it.  A static image is great for referencing multiple times when you're trying to get something to work.  A 30 second introduction in combination with a static explanation would be excellent.

Think about the student who has put their paper off for the last minute (like a lot of them do--if only I would have known how much easier school is when you don't put things off) having to watch a three minute long screencast to figure out how to search a database.  I don't think they'll do it.

I think that while screencasts can be beneficial, they've got to be short and sweet.  For something like a university library, couple that screencast with the traditional HTML explanation so that its easy to go back and forth, enabling trial and error (my favorite way to learn) and also creating greater accessibility at the same time (the person might not be deaf, but they might be sitting in a computer lab, or sharing a room with someone else, or...).

Ryan

 

I understand where you're

lisa_a_hobbs's picture
Submitted by lisa_a_hobbs on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 9:12pm.

I understand where you're coming from, but I think "too long " is a relative concept. UCLA's videos seemed too long to me because they wasted time making bad jokes with a lame bear. In contrast, many other videos were longer but didn't seem too long because they had a clear objective, only covered the stated objective, and didn't waste time being goofy. If I needed to know what the video covered I would watch it - regardless of length Brief is really desirable, but accurate and to the point is more important. It probably would help if patrons had previous experience using video as a learning tool which is increasingly common as people use YouTube to learn all sorts of things.

The task of a library is to make high quality videos AND to make patrons aware of them. Just like anything else in a library, people won't use them if they don't know about them.

That's a good point.  For a

ryanwade's picture
Submitted by ryanwade on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 9:48pm.

That's a good point.  For a lot of things, videos do need to be long.  And if its a well made video that is too the point (no bad jokes with bears) then the video will be useful and probably wont seem too long.

Thanks the input.

Ryan

I agreed with you, Ryan, and

Submitted by sayshelen on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 11:34pm.

I agreed with you, Ryan, and said so in my post about what librarians should avoid when making screencasts. But, I also thought you'd be interested to hear about a potential 'fix' I suggested in my resource post: interactive transcripts. It sounds like you're, like me, loathe to watch videos because you don't get to scan information and take it in at your own (faster) speed. For me, interactive transcripts are a great help.

I think what is "too long"

meredithfarkas's picture
Submitted by meredithfarkas on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 4:53am.

I think what is "too long" also depends on the patron population. I think a motivated graduate student is much more likely to spend 5 minutes watching a video on how to use the advanced features of PubMed than an undergrad (even if it's equally useful to both). I would guess that age also may make a difference in the amount of time people might be willing to sit through a tutorial. I'd love to do a study on this, but the only evidence I have now is anecdotal.

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