SCREENCASTING FOR AN ACADEMIC AUDIENCE Stephanie Kerns, MLS

Galter Health Sciences Library

Northwestern University

312-503-1201

BACKGROUND

Galter Library serves the faculty, staff, residents, and students at the Feinberg School of Medicine and the affiliated hospitals. Northwestern University Northwestern Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Children’s Memorial Hospital Jesse Brown VA Medical Center

BACKGROUND

Wide range of knowledge levels Doctors Students Academic staff Nurses

Wide range of technical skills Geographic diversity Various learner types

BACKGROUND

Why create videos? Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Proposed in 1983 7 intelligence types

Two of interest: Spatial (Visual) Linguistic

We always had web guides Wanted to create videos

For visual learners To better illustrate tasks such as using a software

program

TYPES OF SCREENCASTS

Distance Learning Classes Medical Informatics Masters Program Prosthetics & Orthotics Program soon

Incorporated into web guides Started in 2005 Currently revamping how we are doing this Assessment needs

DISTANCE LEARNING CLASSES

Synchronous Recorded and posted in the course site for

later reference Adobe Connect FERPA issues if posted on the library site http://northwesternuniversity.na4.acrobat.com/p723

59729/

WEB GUIDES

Point of need and asynchronous Most of our users are not on campus or doing

research when librarians are available to help them

First iterations: simply inserted links to videos into already existing web guides

SCREENCASTING

Then: Current Awareness Guide 2006

SCREENCASTING

Now: Current Awareness Services 2010

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/Guides-and-Tutorials/Current-Awareness

SCREENCASTING

Tour of the Galter Website http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/Guides-and-

Tutorials/Website-Tour/ Using GalterLists

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/Guides-and-Tutorials/Galter-Lists/

Functional Disease Ontology http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/Guides-and-

Tutorials/Functional-Disease-Ontology

SCREENCASTING

Software Support: EndNote One of the most requested classes we teach EndNote Guide available on website for years

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/Guides-and-Tutorials/EndNote-Basics

FUTURE IDEAS

Incorporate videos at more points of need throughout website

For example, Class Sign Up page

FUTURE IDEAS

FUTURE IDEAS

Have a page of screencasts and videos Branding

Part of a larger branding effort of the library Will create a consistent look and feel where

appropriate Will create a lead-in for other videos Example:

http://mediaspace.northwestern.edu/nuvention-northwestern-center-entrepreneurship-innovation

ISSUES Storing files

Web server space available Workflow to add files to server

Now have a plan to use the university’s MediaSpace server which will also allow us to push out to iTunesU and YouTube very easily

Software Keeping up-to-date and diverse My department also supports faculty in using the

software for their own teaching (Adobe Connect and Screenflow)

We now have 3 Mac users, 2 PC users, and Camtasia, Screenflow and Connect licenses throughout

ASSESSMENT

We need to do this more fully We are coming up with a plan that includes

Usability (part of an overall website assessment) Usage statistics Feedback – either focus groups or quick web

survey

TIPS AND TRICKS

Plan your script and your movements on screen

(but not too much) Create short clips for incorporation in web

guides Plan on about an hour of production time to

create a minute of video Consider web tutorials for instruction that

requires interactivity

QUESTIONS?

© Stephanie Kerns, 2010