Thing 18: Screen capture tools and podcasting

There are two parts to thing 18 of cpd23; screen capture tools and podcasts.


Screen Capturing Tools

The screen capture tool I looked at was Jing. This tool allows you to capture a screenshot or to make a narrated video of how to do something on a computer. Although it took a while to download, once it's on your computer it's very simple to use. The Jing tutorials show you everything you need to start using the free version.

The first great thing about Jing is that you can select the part of the page you wish to capture or record, unlike using the "print screen" key on your keyboard. The other great thing is you can share your work via Screencast. Choosing this option creates a link to your work which can then be pasted into a document or email. You can also share via Twitter and Facebook. Finally you can annotate screen captures which is very useful indeed when trying to explain something to someone. Not only can you highlight bits but you can also add arrows and text.

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I captured a screenshot from the Companies House website and then added some text to show when the next set of accounts will be filed for a company (I get asked this regularly in work). Again using the Companies House website I made a video showing how to search for a company. Whilst I'm not that comfortable with the idea of narrating a video, I think it would come in handy. The video I made doesn't have any sound and does look a little bizarre - it's the equivalent of miming.



I can see this being very useful in work, however will need to check out the licensing first - things aren't always that straight forward when you work for a company rather than in a public/academic library. Having seen Jing I'm impressed enough to want to explore some of the other tools available (Screencast-o-matic, Camtasia and Lightshot) but that's for another day.

Podcasts


Maria explains in the cpd23 post that podcasts (audio files broadcasted via the Internet) are a good tool to use if you are planning to deliver a series of talks, training updates or anything that will require delivering your content over time. 

Whilst I'm familiar with the concept of podcasts I've never got into the habit of seeking out interesting ones and listening to them on a regular basis and certainly haven't thought about listening to library ones. I therefore started by having a look at what's out there to see if I could get any ideas for my place of work. I was amazed at how different libraries are using podcasts to deliver a wide range of information:

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• The British Library has a podcast explaining how to plan your visit to as well as discussions related to events and exhibitions. 

• New York Public Library has large a range audio and video files covering everything from interviews with authors to information for small businesses.

• London Metropolitan University has looked at using podcasts to deliver "how to" advice to students such as how to find a journal article.

Where I work, the research team have experimented with podcasts to deliver an overview of their findings and I'd be very interested to know how well used they are. I can't see how podcasts would fit with the work the Information Centre is currently undertaking though. Using podcasts to explain how to use resources is a good idea, but I think screenshots would be vital to accompany the narrative, making tools like Jing more useful. I'll however keep in mind Podwhating? which looks like a very training tool should the need arise. 

I'll definitely look to listen to some library related podcasts in the future though and will be starting with arcadia@cambridge, a collection of seminars and lectures on a library issues. I'd also like to listen to some more of the Careers Group-University of London podcasts, the ones on difficult interview questions were very interesting.