Please Login or Register
Advanced search

Fair is fair

meredithfarkas's picture
Submitted by meredithfarkas on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 5:03pm

I've been spending the weekend enjoying viewing your screencasts, so it's only fair that I share a few of the ones I've created for work. I've recently changed my approach to creating screencasts, breaking even short (<5 minutes) screencasts down into individual topics. Over the winter school break, I created screencasts for using Academic Search Premier and JSTOR, where students can click on a specific topic to view only that part of the tutorial. It means that the component pieces load lightning fast and that the student can find just the part they need/want without watching the whole video.  It also means that I could include a lot of details that I wouldn't have if I were trying to create a really brief tutorial (like creating search alerts or saving articles). A friend of mine recently did a study of students at UIUC (not published yet) and found that they preferred screencasts that were broken down this way with each topic being no more than 1-2 minutes.

I really love this format

amytrulock's picture
Submitted by amytrulock on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 5:57pm.

I really love this format that you've used. I like the idea of video chapters that can be accessed individually. I think it not only benefits the user, but also the creator. It's much easier to edit shorter audio clips when creating your screencast or vodcast, and I think the tutorials end up being more clear if you're not trying to do everything at once. I admit that I had to edit my screencast in iMovie because it was just way too long and slow as filmed in one take.

I really like the short

David Munger's picture
Submitted by David Munger on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 6:42pm.

I really like the short format screencasts also. If you give me a fifteen-minute screencast, I may watch it once, but I probably won't ever again. This format, however, makes it easy for me to refer back to it later, or even to find just the part I need without ever having to look at the other screencasts.

How do most people react to the explanatory text that accompanies your narration? I have a hard time with it, especially because the text is usually a bit different from your narration. I have to make a conscious decision to ignore the explanatory text, so I can follow what's being said and demonstrated. I'm sure it's very helpful to the hearing-impaired though.

I thought the approach they took in the Enoch-Pratt Free Library Show-me Guides was interesting. They provide text for the hearing-impaired also, but you can close it if you don't like it.

Oh, yeah. The explanatory

David Munger's picture
Submitted by David Munger on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 6:49pm.

Oh, yeah. The explanatory text is also very helpful if your computer doesn't have sound or if you're in an environment where you can't listen to sound. Laughing

I am like you, in species and

carlaavitabile's picture
Submitted by carlaavitabile on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 8:55pm.

I am like you, in species and opinion (in this case any way).

It really seems like most

ryanwade's picture
Submitted by ryanwade on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 8:50pm.

It really seems like most peope agree: short screencasts!

Thank you so much for sharing

vickisteiner's picture
Submitted by vickisteiner on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 9:27pm.

Thank you so much for sharing your examples, Meredith! I, too, love the format you used. What a great way to let the patron jump to a desired section of the cast. I particularly like that the process of serializing the screencast provides a template that can be used regardless of the database in question.

Syndicate content