using screencasts in chat reference
TRANSCRIPT
Using Screencasts in Chat Reference
Lauren RayEducational Outreach Services Librarian
University of Washington Libraries10.7.2009
Ref22 Webinar for AskWA
Today’s PresentationScreencasting Overview
UW Libraries and Screencast Tutorials
Jing: Overview of on-the-fly Screencasting
How Jing works
How and Why to use Jing in Chat Reference
Tips for using Screencasts in Chat Reference
Questions?
What is Screencasting?Screencasting: capturing a recording of actions
happening on your screen, including mouse movements. Can include all or one section of your screen.
Screen shot: capturing a still image of what's on your screen (think Ctrl+PrintScreen with extra features).
Screencast Software Options
Screencasting at UW LibrariesEarly 2008: Explored options for creating short
information literacy tutorials using screencasting.
Looked for an easy, visually appealing way of explaining common processes to students:How do I use Google Scholar to search for UW
materials?How do I access full text articles from home? How do I search for dissertations and theses?
Screencasting at UW LibrariesEvaluated software, chose Adobe
Captivate 3 b/c of compatibility with Adobe Connect.
Pros: great editing features, Closed Captioning
Cons: challenging to quickly create & publish tutorials, workload issues, no zoom-n-pan
Publishing with Captivate 3Multiple files are created with one screencastChallenging to publish on video hosting websites
Flash-based Tutorial Player
jingproject.com
screenr.com
What does Jing do?Jing is a simple screencapture tool that you download.
Free video hosting (up to 2GB) provided by Screencast.com.
Created by TechSmith, same company that produces Camtasia, SnagIt, Morae and Screencast.com.
Created Video Captures (screencasts) or still Image Captures (screen shots) that you then annotate.
Jing: the Good & the Bad
BenefitsFree (Jing Pro $14.95/yr)
Fast
Extremely easy to share media immediately
Can be edited with Camtasia Studio 6
DownsidesNot ADA compliant (but
Camtasia is ADA approved)
No editing functions for screencasting
Video captures limited to 5 minutes (not always bad)
How Does Jing Work?
What the Patron Sees
Sharing Jing ScreencapturesUpload immediately to screencast.com & send
screencast.com url to patrons.
Other options:Save swf or MPEG-4 file to your computer & email this
file.Upload directly to YouTube (with JingPro). Takes 5-10
minutes).Upload to Camtasia Studio 6 and edit to your heart’s
content. Then send via screencast, YouTube, email, etc.
Why Use Jing in Chat?Explain advanced search strategy that involves multiple
click-throughs.
Explain a feature that you need time to explore on your own.
Give the patron additional options if you only have time to explain one in chat.
Free up time to talk about more than “where to click next”
Why Use Jing in Chat?Send a generic screencast that you’ve made on an
often-requested topic.
Save yourself time! Jing is often quicker than explaining a process in the text of an email.
Promote our instructional role and empower them to become better searchers on their own.
Sample Chat Patron: I would like to listen to the audio edition of "The Economist". On their
page it says that the audio edition is completely free for subscribers. I see that UW is a subscriber. Is the contract with them such that I can access the audio edition?
Librarian: Was there a specific article you wanted to listen to from the Economist?
Patron: well...no and yes. I rarely have time to read, but if I needed to I could look at headlines and request articles based off the titles
Librarian: Ok - I think I've found a way to listen to the Economist articles. However, this isn't completely straightforward. Let me show you how to do this…
Patron: Sweet! Librarian: Actually, would you mind if I sent you a short screencast showing
you how to do this? It might be easier than explaining in the text of this chat. Patron: o.k.
Follow-up with Screencast LinkThanks for contacting us today via the Libraries chat service. I just made a screencast (with sound) that shows you how to get to the audio of articles published in The Economist.
Here's a link to the screencast: http://www.screencast.com/t/MXJWtlGI
You can also contact our Microforms & Newspapers unit for additional suggestions locating topic specific news sources: http://www.lib.washington.edu/mcnews/services.html
Hope this helps! Lauren
How do I search ERIC?
Sample Chat Question
Patron: I used to use a database of journal articles that would do kind-of a reverse citation search - it would locate any articles that cite an article that you specify. I forget its name.
This was for economics/social science work, but I do not remember if the database was specific to these fields. Do you know what this database is?
Follow-up with Screencast LinkHi, I've just figured out how to use ISI find the list of articles which cite your article. It's not entirely straightforward, so here is a quick tutorial showing how I did this (there is no sound in this tutorial):
http://www.screencast.com/t/gmlFalem9
I searched for this article a number of ways in the Cited Reference Search tool, and finally found it by searching simply the author's name and the date. I then selected the first two references that came up, for an article published in Marine Resource Economics in 1986, page 331.
At the end of the tutorial I clicked on one of the articles that cites Eales's article and then looked at the bibliography - you'll see that the article title isn't there, just the basic citation: EALES J MAR RES EC 2 : 331 1986
How Do I find Industry Profiles?
Tips for Screencasts in ChatLog in to screencast.com in a separate window
before chatting (or right when you think you’ll do a screencast). This makes cutting and pasting the shorter url quicker.
Prepare the patron by letting them know you’re going to send them a screencast, and whether it will have sound.
Tips for Screencasts in ChatRemember to leave out identifying information
(your bookmarks or parts of your screen with info you don’t want shared).
If you are chatting with a patron from a different institution, keep in mind that their search results may be very different in the same database. Just screencast the search techniques.
Tips for Screencasts in ChatConsider creating an image capture (screen shot)
rather than video if what you’re teaching involves one screen.
Turn off automatic sounds (such as IM alerts) before screencasting.
As always, remind them where they can get help post screencast.
Screencast.comMedia stored in your Screencast.com folders are public, but
can be made private.
Screencast.com allows 2GB total of free storage.
Public content on Screencast.com can be indexed on search engines.
Allows you to set up an RSS or iTunes feed of your captures.
Other features: commenting and viewable stats
