ADDING PIZZAZZ TO YOUR WEBSITE USING
VIDEO CAPTURING SOFTWARE
Super OLA Conference
Session 106
February 3, 2005
Available at http://www.trentu.ca/library/ola/presentation.html
Presenters
James Watson, Information Services Librarian (Education), Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario
James has liaison, instruction and collection development responsibilities in the area of Education. As well,
he works as part of the Information Services team of librarians to provide general reference and instruction
services. Feel free to contact him at jameswatson@trentu.ca
Jennifer Thiessen, Reference Librarian, Education and Applied Language Studies, Brock University,
St. Catharines, Ontario Jennifer has liaison, instruction and collection development responsibilities for the
Faculty of Education and the departments of Applied Language Studies, International Studies and Aboriginal
Studies. She can be reached at jthiesse@brocku.ca.
Examples of Tutorials
Colorado Mountain College
http://www.coloradomtn.edu/library/videos/
El Centro College
http://tscecr.dcccd.edu/elcentro/library/guides/
Links to Web Tutorials
http://office.ilcso.illinois.edu/Reports/iuageuic/train/web_tutorials.htm
Providence College
http://www.providence.edu/Academics/Phillips+Memorial+Library/Hidden+Topics/
Online+Tutorials+June+2004.htm
Trent University Library
http://www.trentu.ca/library/help/videos
University of British Columbia Library
http://www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/videos/library_research.html
Vendors of Video Screen Capturing Software
Macromedia Captivate
http://www.macromedia.com/software/captivate/
Techsmith Camtasia
http://www.techsmith.com/products/studio/default.asp?lid=CamtasiaStudioHome
Qarbon ViewletBuilder
http://www.qarbon.com/presentation-software/viewletbuilder/
Tips for Creating Videos
Do not try to do it all in one video. If you want to cover a large topic think of breaking it up into
several smaller tutorials. Users won’t feel overwhelmed and can view one or more at their own
pace.
Capture using minimal screen resolutions and video settings. 640 X 400 or 800 X 600 settings
are adequate for most captures and 32 bit colour is not needed, so set to 16 bit.
For voice narrations, try to be relaxed. Alter your voice as you do the narration to avoid sounding
too monotonous and academic. If possible, enlist the help of others with exceptional speaking
voices.
You will need a good quality sound card and microphone. Test different audio settings to obtain
the best balance between file size and quality.
Once the video is produced and published to the Web, test the download speed and video
quality from various computers. Often videos will look great at a university campus that has a
good Internet backbone, but may be slow to load off-campus because of poor Internet
connections. Users will be frustrated and not bother viewing them.
Think of these tutorials as “value-added” services. Because of accessibility issues, it is
advisable to continue using traditional print- and web-based instructional resources.
Other Resources
Bates, T. (2000). Teaching, learning, and the impact of multimedia technologies. Educause
Review, 35(5), 38-43.
Costello, B., Lenholt, R., & Stryker, J. (2004). Using Blackboard in library instruction:
Addressing the learning styles of generations X and Y. Journal of Academic Librarianship,
30(6), 452-460.
Hoyer, J. (2004). Enhancing the "Show and Tell" aspects of class engagement using Camtasia,
a low-cost video screen capture replay technology. Retrieved January 12, 2005 from
http://www.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed04/hoyer.pdf
Manuel, K. (2002). Teaching information literacy to Generation Y. Journal of Library
Administration, 36(1-2), 195-217.
Morris, M., and Cole, V. (2004). Lights camera action: Tips for effective streaming library
instruction video. Retrieved December 20, 2004 from
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/video.html
Price, W. (2004). Evaluation and use of free or cheap software and shareware for library
instruction. Retrieved December 15, 2004 from http://www.lib.panam.edu/loex/
Tempelman-Kluit, N., & Ehrenberg, E. (2003). Library Instruction and Online Tutorials:
Developing Best Practices for Streaming Desktop Video Capture. Feliciter, 49(2), 89-90.