Library:TLAC Screencasting Contest

Create a short instructional screencast relevant to library users or staff for a chance to win one of three prizes!

Background

On Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 the Library’s Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee [TLAC] and the coordinators of the Tools for Outreach & Teaching Series [TOTS] organized a forum for all library staff on screencasting tools.

Based on the interest and excitement at the forum about these tools, we wanted to follow it up with a more in depth opportunity for library staff to explore the instructional potential of these kinds of tools, and test their effectiveness for creating quick tutorials for our users or training materials for colleagues. Thus, the UBC Library Screencasting Contest was born!

What is a screencast?

A screencast is a video recording of the activity on your computer screen. Thisis typically accompanied with an audio narration and special effects such aspanning or callouts to emphasizeareas of the screen or actions taking place. It is typically used for tutorialsor software demonstrations. Here’s an exampleof a library screencast from Virginia Tech: http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/screencasts/abi/abi-searching.html. It’s a bit long, but gives you an idea of what a screencast looks like.

What’s in it for me?

• You will develop new skills in a fun and interesting way.

• Your screencast may be added to the UBC Library’s web site as a resource available to all library users.

• You could win one of a number of great prizes!

Who is eligible?

The contest is open to all permanent UBC Library employees: librarians, library assistants, and M&P staff. Please let your supervisor know if you are interested in participating in this contest as the time you commit to it will need to be balanced with your other work priorities.

What are the rules?

• The contest runs from January 17th until February 18th at Noon, PST.

• Screencasts must be created using one of the 4 screencasting tools featured at the December 2010 TLAC/TOTS Forum.

• Screencasts must be 2 minutes or less in length.

• Screencast submissions must be accompanied by copy of the script you used to prepare it. This script does not have to be neat, tidy and formatted. It can be in whatever form you used to prepare. For successful tutorials it may be adapted and published on the website to make the tutorial more accessible for all our users.

• Screencast submissions should be developed using the Screencasting Best Practices document attached to this email.

• One entry per person.

• Contest winners agree to have their screencasts featured on the UBC Library web site.

How do I enter?

1. Pick one of the four screencasting tools featured at the December forum to make your screencast: Jing, Screencast-o-Matic, Screenr or Wink. Screencast-o-Matic and Screenr are free, web-based tools that don’t require a download so you might want to start with one of these. If you already have a laptop at your disposal, you may want to download Jing or Wink.
2. Using the Screencasting Best Practices attached to this email, develop a script for your screencast, practice it a few times and then use one of these tools to record it.
3. Submit your screencast and script to the Screencasting Contest Committee at lib-sccontest@interchange.ubc.ca by Noon on Friday, February 18th, 2011.

How will the screencast submissions be evaluated?

All screencast submissions will be evaluated based on the Screencasting Best Practices attached to this email. Please download and review them before you begin work on your screencast.

Screencasting Contest judges will include the following representatives from TLAC and TOTS:

• Susan Atkey, TOTS
• Carolyn Carvajal, TLAC
• Katherine Miller, TOTS/TLAC
• Trish Rosseel, TLAC
• Lindsay Ure, TOTS/TLAC

What are the prizes?

There will be a range of prizes awarded to contest winners. Stay tuned for more details!

What topic/tool should I cover in my screencast?

Your screencast can cover any topic that you think is relevant to library users or library staff. It could be of relevance to many people, or to a specific group. In any case, it should present some unique/original information or will present existing information in a new way.

Looking for ideas? How about a screencast on Summon, Google Scholar, using the new library catalogue, using Abacus, etc. Or how about creating a new version of some of these old, outdated Guided Tour tutorials: http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/instruct/tutorials/.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact the Screencasting Contest Committee at lib-sccontest@interchange.ubc.ca or feel free to call any one of us. We’ll help in any way we can.

In order to record a screencast you will need to have access to a good set of headphones. If you don’t have access to a set, please contact us and we will lend one to you.