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Screencasting tutorials:Best practices and practical tips
Kristina Oldenburg | [email protected]
Mari Paz Vera | [email protected]
References & resources: libguides.vcc.ca/screencasting
Screencasting introduction What, why, how, and when?
Best practices From the literature
Demonstration Screencast-o-matic
Hands-on Screencast-o-matic
Screencasts: What are they?
Record what’s happening on computer screen Can record audio, add images, zoom, or edit Free, cheap, or expensive software available
Upload to YouTube or create a file Embed on course site Email to students to respond to questions
Screencasts: What are they?
VCC librarian Bill created a screencast to demo searching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHissVdZms
Searching for images of tooth decay
Why would you use screencasts?
Increase accessibility to content by providing multiple formats (Oud, 2011) Audio, visual demo, text
How do students use screencasts?
Point of need Demo of a library research database
Watched when finding articles for an assignment
(Senior nursing students - Baker, 2014) How to use specific software
Review Excel procedures taught in lecture
(Tekinarslan, 2013)
How do students use screencasts?
Lecture summaries & for review (Morris & Chickwa, 2014)
“I watched them several times…. The parts which I found the most difficult to understand I listened to many times.”
(Food studies undergraduate, quoted in Morris & Chickwa)
How do students use screencasts?
Some students with dyslexia found them very useful Pre-lecture: New words & concepts Post-lecture: Comprehension self-check Students with dyslexia use study aids
more than other students (Embryology students, Evans 2011, p. 62)
Students’ thoughts
Shouldn’t be a replacement for conventional in-person lectures
(Food science undergraduate comments reported in Morris & Chickwa, 2014)
Student behaviour
Availability of screencast tutorials didn’t impact lecture attendance
(Evans, 2011)
Students’ thoughts
More students preferred online to in-person library instruction Required session scheduled outside of
class time 28.8% prefer classroom 63.5% prefer web tutorial(Silver & Nickel, 2007)
Flexibly-timed, at-home learning may be easier for students,
especially if difficulties with: Mobility Concentration Scheduling (Case & Davidson, 2011)
Screencasts: When & why to use?
Is it faster to record or explain?
Is it the best instructional tool for that situation, and how your students learn?
Think & discuss for a minute:
Is there a situation where you could use screencasts?
Screencasting best practices
Accessible design is good lesson planning
(Oud 2011)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Oud)
Provide more than one way to access content Eg Create captions or a script for audio
content Or provide the script as a separate
text document (not PDF)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Oud)
Make videos keyboard-controllable Eg don’t insert quizzes that require
mouse clicks
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Oud)
Allow viewers to pause & replay videos if needed YouTube has this option
Accessible design (Oud 2011) Highlight main points
Eg arrow, or highlighted cursor Meaningful graphics
Clear organization Consistent
Fonts, styles, colours, labels, and sizes, etc. Simple language Clear instructions
If requiring viewers to do something (eg quiz)
Best practices: Video length
Keep screencasts short (Morris & Chikwa, 2014)
41% of students preferred 1-3 minute videos 24% liked 3-5 minutes 10% liked 5-10 minutes No respondents preferred >10 minute videos (Baker, 2012)
Best practices: Audio pacing
Narration pace of about 3 words/second
(Baker, 2014)
Best practices: Zooming
Zooming in only when necessary (Baker, 2014)
Eg CanLII video
Best practices: Callouts
Callouts are labels you can add when editing a screencast
Best practices: Callouts
Callouts only when necessary Some students thought 4
callouts/minute were too many (Baker, 2014)
Best practices: Visuals
Students asked for larger images & type(Silver & Nickel, 2007)
Easy to see = more accessible High contrast images & text Large, clear font (Oud 2011)
Best practices: Audio
Include meaningful voice narration for visual content
Closed captioned for hearing impaired Option to hide captions
Reading a full transcript can be too much to process for viewers who can also hear
Before recording:
How much time should you spend? Consider: Simple & clear, with no callouts, might be
effective Is the content likely to change soon? Does your video have a marketing
purpose?
Plot out your screencast in a logical order Is it worth preparing a script?
Before recording:
Consider the recording size for your needs Are you recording for HD, or for an
iPhone?
If recording audio, get a quality microphone. They needn’t be expensive, but poor
audio can be extremely distracting. Does your video even need audio?
While recording:
When you record, you can do double or triple takes of a sentence Easier to cut the takes you don't like
Pause occasionally. Makes editing, re-recording, or inserting
something new easier The pause means you won’t cut into
other content
While recording:
A well-branded title slide for the opening of the video can add a professional quality Especially true if you’re making a series.
References & resources: libguides.vcc.ca/screencasting
Questions? Now you try!
[will provide link to Screencast-o-matic test account]
Selected referencesBaker, A. (2014). Students’ preferences regarding four characteristics of information literacy screencasts. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 8(1/2), 67-80. doi:10.1080/1533290X.2014.916247
Case, D. E., & Davidson, R. C. (2011). Accessible online learning. New Directions for Student Services, 134, 47-58.
Evans, D. J. (2011). Using embryology screencasts: A useful addition to the student learning experience? Anatomical Sciences Education, 4(2), 57-63.
Morris, C., & Chikwa, G. (2014). Screencasts: How effective are they and how do students engage with them? Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(1), 25-37.
Oud, J. (2011). Improving screencast accessibility for people with disabilities: Guidelines and techniques. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 16(3), 129-144.
Silver, S. L., & Nickel, L. T. (2005). Are online tutorials effective? A comparison of online and classroom library instruction methods. Research Strategies, 20(4), 389-396.
Tekinarslan, E. (2013). Effects of screencasting on the Turkish undergraduate students’ achievement and knowledge acquisitions in spreadsheet applications. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 12271-282.
