Screencasting

In my past life I spent almost ten years as a technical trainer. When I was not teaching people how to do phlebotomy I would have to teach them to use the various computer programs and systems needed to complete our tasks. To do this I relied on many screen shots and as the technology became available on screencasts.

There are two big benefits that screencasting offers. The first is that it is asynchronous. As I trainer I do not have to be there to deliver the training at that moment because I have created a recording that can be used at any time. The second benefit is that, done correctly, it appeals to various types of learners. You have the visual aspect. You can have text and audio. And though I am reaching a bit on this one I think that body kinesthetic learners can even imagine themselves moving through the process with their mouse or keyboard as they watch.

I have actually had an opportunity to use screencasting in my current job. Though it is rough and needs more work before it will be ready for prime time, I created a screen cast of the process for creating accounts using Millennium. This can be found on the training section (also a work on progress) of the circ portion of the APL intranet site.

Obviously for me training stands out as the best way to use screen casting within a library. It can be used to show patrons how to renew online, search the catalog or place holds. Within the library there are endless tasks that it could be used for.

In addition to the aforementioned items I think there is one other benefit that screencasting has to offer. I think that if done with the right tone it can also help remove some of the trepidation that comes along with learning. If I were focusing on patrons I would keep the mood light. I would also make every effort to tie what they are trying to learn now with things that I would expect them to have done in the best, including real world equivalents (drawing programs come to mind here). The nice thing is that people can watch the videos repeatedly until they understand what they are seeing and hearing.