Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library
University of California, Berkeley
July 16, 2010
We made online instructional videos for PubChem, a free database of the biological activities of small molecules developed by NCBI at the National Institutes of Health.
The videos are modular with each one addressing research problems and tasks in chemical informatics. This arrangement encourages remixing, reuse, and sharing that can be tailored to different learning needs. The videos are stored in and delivered through YouTube - a popular, video-sharing website that offers social media features for commenting, voting, and video sharing.
This pilot project demonstrates that online video development is not cost prohibitive when using software and services that are free, open source, readily available at academic libraries, or cost five dollars.
We hope online videos for library instruction will raise the library’s visibility and communicate our value. The videos may facilitate patron engagement and library use in a number of ways:
We had three goals for developing these videos.
1. Follow principles of effective instruction by:
2. Use social media to:
3. Minimize costs by:
Here is a sample video:
All 12 videos are available by:
|Microsoft PowerPoint||Create slide content||Readily available at many academic libraries.
Alternatively, use OpenOffice.org for free.
|GIMP||Edit graphics||Free, open-source software|
|Audacity||Record and edit audio||Free, open-source software|
(e.g., record computer demonstrations with video and audio)
However, we paid five dollars for advanced features.
|Windows Live Movie Maker||Edit video||Free|
|YouTube||Store and distribute videos||Free|
|Creativity||Make videos engaging||Free and priceless|
While online videos offer advantages with efficiency and engagement, they cannot substitute the rich interaction of in-person, classroom instruction.
Advantages of online videos (relative to in-person, classroom instruction)
Disadvantages of online videos (relative to in-person, classroom instruction)
We have not conducted an evaluation of this pilot project yet. For details about our experiences, please contact Jeffery Loo - firstname.lastname@example.org
We created online videos for library instruction at low cost using software that was free, readily available at academic libraries, or cost five dollars.
Because the videos are modular and address specific research tasks, they can be remixed and tailored to different learning needs.
By storing them in YouTube, they are viewable on multiple platforms (e.g., mobile phones, desktops, televisions) and they leverage social media for video sharing and instructional assessment through voting and commenting.
Horrigan, J. (2006, November 20). The Internet as a Resource for News and Information about Science. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/The-Internet-as-a-Resource-for-News-and-Information-about-Science.aspx
Rainie, L. (2009, November 20). The New Information Ecology. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/51-The-New-Information-Ecology.aspx
Schonfeld, R. C., & Housewright, R. (2010). Faculty Survey 2009: Key Strategic Insights for Libraries, Publishers, and Societies. New York: ITHAKA.
Wieling, M., & Hofman, W. (2010). The impact of online video lecture recordings and automated feedback on student performance. Computers & Education, 54(4), 992-998.