Library Instruction and Online Tutorials:
Developing Best Practices for Streaming Desktop Video Capture
[Ed: Links to web pages and/or e-mail addresses which
have become inactive since the publication of this article have been enclosed in
curly brackets { }. Replacement links have been provided where possible.]
Incorporating multimedia in online training modules and tutorials has
the potential to significantly affect current methods of library-based instruction. Not only can we deliver interactivity
through multimedia-based instruction, but we can also accommodate different learning styles. In Web-Based Instruction:
A Guide for Libraries, Susan Sharpless Smith says that "information provided in more than one medium" is a characteristic
of good library instruction, since "students have different learning styles."¹ Our experience with users at NYU's Bobst
Library and at the ITS Faculty Technology Center has shown that providing instruction through multimedia is a good way to
engage people, teach concepts, and enhance instruction. We have found that using video desktop screen capture technology,
delivered through streaming media, can offer a useful way of providing instruction in the online environment.
At Bobst Library, we provide many forms of instruction. Aside from in-person bibliographic instruction, printed guides,
and online guides, we also have several more interactive online tutorials. After evaluating our current instructional
materials, we identified the need for another, richer and more guided online alternative. We began to explore the
possibility of using video desktop screen capture technologies as a way to generate this alternative, in hopes of
targeting our more visual and audio learners. While many on-campus students can come to the library for in-person
instruction, distance learners cannot. We were interested in finding a way to reach those users who cannot or will
not come into the library, but who still want to learn how to find our resources, and who are not being served by our
other online tutorials. Providing a more "human" form of online instruction—a guided tutorial with voiceover
narration—was the option we chose.
Rather than create a separate new tutorial, we decided to supplement our existing text-based HTML tutorial,
"How to Find a Book," with a streaming media component to reach a broader range of online users.
After identifying the need and agreeing upon the format, we began investigating production tools. Since the "How to
Find a Book" tutorial is a collection of static screen capture images with explanatory text, we wanted to make the
multimedia tutorial mirror the actual online navigation involved in finding a book through our website, complete with
mouse moves and clicks. We had to consider a variety of usability parameters before proceeding with the project.
Through usability testing of our tutorials, we had learned that our users were not interested in committing much
time to lengthy tutorials, and wanted information on how to use the library in a quick and succinct fashion. We
were considering using a form of online video and rich multimedia, and therefore we had to weigh a variety of
delivery factors and the Internet connection patterns of our users.
We knew that in order to reach the broadest user community, we had to consider both slow and fast modem
connections and download times. We also needed to minimize the number of plug-ins and other technical barriers
to viewing the new tutorial. Also, knowing that online video and multimedia content create large file sizes, and
thus the potential for online delivery problems, we needed to find some way to offer this type of rich content
to our targeted users. Since both the Real and QuickTime players are planned for inclusion on the next NYU-NET
CD, we decided that streaming media would be the best way to accomplish our goals.
We then had to find the software package best able to produce the tutorial content. Only a limited number
of software packages have the features we wanted. The Faculty Technology Center recently acquired SmartBoard,
an interactive, touch-sensitive lecture board synchronized to a computer. SmartBoard comes with an application
package that allows an instructor to record desktop movements for future playback. We were interested in using
this desktop recording feature to capture the online navigation of finding a book at Bobst Library.
As we began using SmartBoard to record our "How to Find a Book" tutorial, we considered a variety of production
techniques. These included: the length of the tutorial and thus the necessity of using a script; the audio quality
and thus the necessity for a specialized microphone; and the coordination of mouse movements with voice, which
took practice.
After much trial and error, we began to encounter various quality problems. Resolving some microphone
positioning issues and perfecting our timing led to smooth recording sessions. However, due to the graphic
nature of the captured desktop captured images and the specifications of the compression technologies, we found
it difficult to generate high-quality compressed images. We contacted librarians at Cornell University who were
working on a similar project. They suggested that we use Camtasia, a screen capturing and recording tool, which
we did with better results.
One of our goals was to generate a process simple enough to be adopted with minimal training by a broad
audience of librarians and other faculty. In our final process, we took the best version of the recorded
video through Camtasia Recorder, then used various compression settings within Camtasia Producer, Cleaner
EZ, QuickTime Pro and RealProducer, to make the best compressed version. After that, the only step left was
to integrate it into the current navigation of the library website. The results are now live at:
http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/howto.htm
or http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/info/instruct/book/.
We are currently in the process of expanding the number of tutorials offered on the site using the
above methodology. We are also exploring the possible use of Flash MX and the Sorensen squeeze plug-in, and
converting to an MPEG4 compliant version as future alternatives that may enhance interactivity and deliver
even higher quality.
For More Information
Footnote
- Susan Sharpless-Smith, Web-Based Instruction: A Guide for Libraries. (Chicago:
American Library Association, 2001.)
Author Biographies
Ethan Ehrenberg is an Instructional Technology Specialist at the ITS Faculty Technology Center,
New York University. He can be reached at ethan.ehrenberg@nyu.edu.
Nadaleen Tempelman-Kluit is an Instructional Design Librarian at the Bobst Library, New York University. She can be reached at
ntk2@nyu.edu.
Posted: April 8, 2003. Page last reviewed: April 25, 2004. All content © New York University.
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Send e-mail to: its.connect@nyu.edu.
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