13th Off-Campus Library Services Conference, April 2008
Visual Tutorials for Point-of-Need Instruction in Online Courses
Debra Kimok and Holly Heller-Ross
• Overview of Screencasting Software• Project History• Uses for Point-of-Need Tutorials• Examples of Uses in Online Courses• Examples of Uses in Face-to-Face Courses• Experiments With These Tutorials in Chat Reference and Other Library Services• Future Directions• Assessment of the Tutorials• Design Guidelines• Collaborative Tutorial Projects
Presentation Outline
Formatting MLA Citation Indentation and Spacing Using
Microsoft Word 2003
Visual Tutorial
• Adobe Captivate
• CamStudio
• Qarbon Viewlet Builder
• Mac, Linux, Freeware: “Software We Like,” LibrarySuccess.org wiki
Screencasting Software (PC):
•Feinberg Library Instruction Unit Online Initiative—Course-Related (one-shot) sessions
• Course Tutorials
• Reference Services
Project History
• To foster independent learning• To appeal to various skill levels• To increase the visual component, addressing learning styles and active learning• Hands-on alternative to office visits• To address point-of-need questions and problems
Why Tutorials for Online Courses?
• To answer student questions
• Class announcements and e-mail
• Feedback on assignments
Point-of-Need Uses in Online Courses
Student Question
Student Question: “How can I see what my grades are so far?”
My response: Angel Grades Tutorialhttp://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/debra.kimok/Tutorials/AngelGrades.htm
Student Question: “How can I see what my grades are so far?”
My response: Angel Grades Tutorialhttp://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/debra.kimok/Tutorials/AngelGrades.htm
Class Announcement and E-Mail
• Angel Grades Tutorial
• Checking Spelling in Discussion Forums Tutorial
Assignment Question:
“What method/s did you use to look for the full-text of your article in the library databases?”
Student Answer: “The full text version was found in the search.”
Feedback: “When you don’t have this access in the database you’re searching, you can look for your journal title in Journals AtoZ to see what other Feinberg databases include your journal. This tutorial shows how to do this:” http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/debra.kimok/Tutorials/JournalsAtoZ.htm
Assignment Feedback
• Tutorial linked in an assignment
• Tutorial within a lecture
• Tutorial preparation for a group activity
Tutorial Sharing with other Librarians
Visual Tutorials for Point-of-Need Instruction in Online Courses
Debra Kimok and Holly Heller-Ross
13th Off-Campus Library Services Conference April 2008
Visual Tutorials for Point-of-Need Instruction in Online Courses
Debra Kimok and Holly Heller-Ross
13th Off-Campus Library Services Conference April 2008
Visual Tutorials for Point-of-Need Instruction in Online Courses
Debra Kimok and Holly Heller-Ross
13th Off-Campus Library Services Conference April 2008
• Reference Services
• Subject Research Guide for Nursing
Experiments With Other Library Services
• 2003/04 Academic Year: 245 questions
• 2006/2007 Academic Year: 513 questions
Plattsburgh Online Chat Reference (IREF)
Chat Reference Conversation
dragOnKing38: hi
dragOnKing38: can you tell me how to access the e-reserve?
psuiref: I can. It’s at http://eres.plattsburgh.nnyln.net/eres/default.aspx
psuiref: You can also see how to use the system with a very brief tutorial: http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/debra.kimok/Tutorials/CourseReadings.htm
dragOnKing38: thanks
psuiref: You’re very welcome.
379 chat transactions reviewed and categorized
More than half could benefit by tutorials
Chat Reference Analysis
Chat AnalysisCategory # of Questions % of Questions Improvement
Approach
Help locating books or media in the online catalog
50 13.2% Create new tutorials or…add books and media searching to the catalog tutorial on finding periodicals
Unique Questions
47 12.4% Continue reference service
Help locating full-text of articles/documents
36 9.5% Create tutorial for the A-Z database
Help locating electronic course reserves
17 4.5%Use existing tutorial
Embedded in Research Guides
Future Directions
• Increased interactivityExample
• Narrated tutorial alternatives
• Class comments
• Survey responses
Initial Assessment
Survey Questions
Basic Searching in PlattCat Survey
• Required Slides
• Consistent Design
• Set Demonstration Defaults
Design Guidelines for Feinberg Library Tutorials
• Title• Objectives• Instructions• Review• More Help• Survey
Required Slides
• Recording Size
• Backgrounds
• Caption and Button Font Styles, Sizes, Colors
• Click Box Highlight Colors
• Hyperlinks
Consistent Design
• Review assessment instruments and analyze the results
• Create more tutorials
• Survey faculty for desired tutorials
• Review software options
Next Steps
• Animated Tutorial Sharing Project (A.N.T.S.)
• Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online Database (ACRL Primo)
• Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT)
• TeacherTube
Collaborative Tutorial Projects
http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/debra.kimok/LIBTutorials.htm
Tutorials List
Presentation Handout