Pre-Recording Computer Demonstrations
Talking anyone through using new software can be difficult. Even explaining the nuances of using an unfamiliar tool or feature in a familiar software package can be difficult unless you’re sitting right next to the person, and one demonstration may not be enough to make a complicated series of clicks and settings “stick” in the other person’s memory.
In cases like this, pre-recording a short computer demonstration may be the solution. Using software for PC or Mac, you can create a click-by-click “screen movie” of the demonstration, and add audio narration and/or text captions. We’ve found this to be very helpful in efficiently disseminating training to users, and we can imagine a wide variety of ways that faculty might use the tool to help their students use applications.
When you’re creating these demos, try to imagine that you haven’t used this particular tool or technique before. Pause after each click to give the viewer a few seconds to take in what has changed on the page, or any other result of the click. Point out any significant things to notice or options when you do the narration or text captions. If you’re taking the viewers through a web page, read out the web address so it’s perfectly clear and there are no confusions between “ell” and “one”, for example.
In Multi-Media Services’ Resource Room, the software to create screen demonstrations is available on PC and on Mac, and you have access to all of the software that is installed in labs. Please see their website at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/mms/mmr for details. If you’d like more tips about how to do this, just contact Elizabeth Scheyder in SAS Computing.
