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October 22, 2006

Internet Librarian (IL2006) : Creating Online Tutorials in Less that 30 Minutes

I've attended Internet Librarian in Monterey many times, and I never tire of it. Of course, nothing's perfect. Much of the gorgeous coastline around here was shrouded in fog for most of the morning. Big Sur is an amazing place, but in thick fog you definitely don't get the same peak experience that you can enjoy with clear skies. Still, driving down highway 1 in a convertible with the top down, singing Beach Boy songs, had it's appeal. And just a quick travel tip, Cafe Kevah has the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life. The view is also supposed to be extraordinary, but again, there was the whole issue of fog.

By the time the fog burned off, it was afternoon, and I was due to attend a workshop conducted by Greg Notess on creating online tutorials. Luckily the session was good enough that I didn't spend too much time pining for the fjords. Heck, there's only so much beauty you can soak up in one day, anyway.

I've created some instructional web videos, but I wanted to learn more about the process. Greg's session didn't disappoint. By the way, you'll find much of the information from the handout, and a lot of other good stuff on Greg's new LibCasting - Screencasting and Libraries blog.

Greg talked about several different tools, but his software of choice is Camtasia. That worked for me, since I also use Camtasia, and picked up some good tips during the course of the session.

Short is good. Greg suggests keeping online tutorials under a minute if at all possible. He also recommends making sure to record videos in a screen sized to work within most people's browser window, and limiting your recorded screen are to only what's necessary. For example, you may not want to capture the entire browser, but rather, just the content area, unless the use of the browser toolbars are part of the instruction.

It's true, you can create short online tutorials without a huge investment of time, once you get the hang of it. However, if you expect your videos to be perfect, 30 DAYS might not be enough time. So keep your expectations reasonable. After all, you can best serve your users by accepting some slight quirks in order to get the videos completed and available. Besides, it makes you seem more human. :-)

Nevertheless, there will be errors that you'll want to correct. I liked Greg's method for correcting errors during the course of the recording. Whenever he makes a mistake, or encounters something that he wants to cut from the video, such as an email pop-up notification, he stops talking for several seconds. These pauses can be spotted on Camtasia timeline, thereby marking the points at which he wants to go back and edit.

My technique is a little bit different. I record until I make a mistake, which for me is sometimes a matter of seconds. :-) At that point I stop, edit out the error, re-do the mistaken portion, and continue on. I may try Greg's method to see which works better for me.

Among other valuable tips - when you start the recording, count to 3 or 4 before you actually start talking. Similarly, at the end of the recording, count again (silently, of course!) before stopping the action. This makes both the beginning and end less abrupt.

Screencasting is a great way to instruct users at the point of need. And these days, point of need is the only time most people are receptive. Since you can't be available every minute of the day, you may want to try experimenting with instructional videos.

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