School Library Without Books - A Commentary

First, here is the news story from Boston.com on the Cushing Academy decision. The school gave away the existing library They are planning to replace the traditional paper books with electronic book readers by Amazon and Sony.

Many people have strong opinions about this transition. At the time of this writing there were 440 comments about this news story on the website. There is also a CNN write up about the transition from paper to electronic books. The tech community is also little buzzed about this decision. Check out the comments from the tech blog, Engadget.

The librarian and book bloggers communities are extremely concerned over this switch in book media.

Brian's Book Blog:

Okay, I feel better now. I just don’t understand how they feel that this is a good idea. A print book won’t shut down if it looses battery power. A print book doesn’t get recalled from your shelf like an eBook might from your Kindle.

The Luscious Librarian:

Now, I'm all for technology, especially when you're referring to information that is updated on a daily basis like reference information found in encyclopedias, but that kind of information is not free and requires a subscription. It's also easily controlled or changed depending on who is reviewing and posting the information, the interest groups the information supports or denounces.

Lisa Gold:

This is stupid on so many levels that I forced myself to wait a full day before blogging about it so I wouldn’t rant incoherently. Let me just pose a few questions:

• Did the librarians of Cushing Academy try to explain to their headmaster that only a small percentage of works are available in digital form, and that most of those aren’t free?
• Before discarding their 20,000 printed books, did they consider checking to see which ones aren’t available in digital form and keeping those? (In my experience many of the best reference works only exist in print form.)
• Did they think about the fact that even if the library pays to subscribe to subscription databases and encourages the use of free public domain works (Google Books, Project Gutenberg, etc.), that still means students won’t have access to the vast majority of works published after 1922 and still under copyright?

My Thoughts But More Feelings

I love books. I love the smell of them. I love to hold them and goodness knows I have a few in my bed waiting for me to catch up.

So hearing about a school voluntarily dismantling the library has me at near tears. I don't care if they are rich kids. Every child and teenager needs access to books. I want them to have access to Judy Blume, Malcolm X, and any science fiction book. I'd even put up a scuffle for the sports books and I don't care about sports.

Why? Because books saved my life as a kid. Seriously. Everything from Go Dog Go to Encyclopedia Brown to why do people hate each other? I know how powerful the right book can be in the hands of a person in need.

I would walk the stacks just looking for that book that would call out to me. And if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about then why are you in the library program or reading this post?

This is personal! (and my opinion does not reflect upon PCC or Shatford Library.)

Yes, I like tech and gadgets. Always have and always will. But books are my home. Paper books. When I need to escape and I have no money where do I turn to? A book. When I am searching a past that I have no information on where do I look? I can find an out of print book that has what I need. That out of print book is not going to be in a Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader.

My connection to the pulp is similar to BookishGal on her post about keeping books. I can't throw them out. I pick up stray books if I think they are at risk for disposal.

So to read of someone who is a so-called educator who is proud that they discarded 20,000 books for a $12,000 coffee machine I get teary. And angry. And sad.

Look, I knew the transition was coming. I tried to tell people. But is should be a transition, not a dad gummed purge. This is not the last of it. The state of California is planning to use e-textbooks and will phase them in over time. Textbook publishers are getting read to produce custom content textbooks in electronic form.

Textbooks in electronic form have a places in schools. There is no stopping that process. But literature, philosophy and boatloads of history books cannot effectively be transferred to electronic devices at this time.

This is a loss when even one school library does it. It must not become a trend. If this summer has taught us anything it is that there is no pride in being willfully stupid. It is not a badge of honor.

We can do better than this. We must be informed and, when given the opportunity, speak up.

Out In the Stacks - Library Assistant Stories

What is like in there real world of library service? Well, you are dealing with real people. Not always on good behavior. Sometimes acting as if the have divine rights that are higher than yours and otherwise can be a pill.

There are those library paraprofessional that have gone before you. Have they got stories! The hard part is for these folks to have the time to write them. Our challenge here at the blog is to find the rascals.

For your reading pleasure or for those that like tales of terror, here you go.

At Once Upon A Time T. Kim Nguyen spins a lament about access, patrons and plumbing.

In crime news, a Las Vegas Library Assistant was arrested after being caught being orally fixated on a 17 year old.

Folks, I don't talk about social media and software just because I'm a tech junkie. The television station pulled the woman's photo from Facebook. Do not have sex with people under 17 years and 364 days. And as an added tip, do nothing in the vicinity of a high school. This is not debatable.

Clover is making a mental note to focus on job and not blog. This ties in with a recent post on when patrons ask for things you can't pronounce and don't have a clue as to what they are talking about.

Well this is scary. Not all library assistants are going to be human. I just found out about DiLiA. Forgive me, but I hope it never gets out of Alpha.

That all for now. Remember don't break the spine if you can't do the time.

Microsoft Encarta Is No More - My Thoughts

Microsoft has decided to stop publishing the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia. This includes the software that accompanied certain Microsoft software packages as well as the Encarta web site. You can get more information about the announcement at the Encarta FAQ page.

The Encarta website will be discontinued on October 31, 2009. Those that have the Student Edition and Premium software will be supported for the next three years.

The New York Times thinks that Wikipedia put the shank in Encarta. Well, maybe but I think it was more that the users made a decision on how they wanted to access information. Encarta became a tree in the forest that no one could see except those that knew that path. It was a question of did you have time or was it worth your effort to get what you needed.

I will be honest, there were times that I actually used Encarta on my computer but I had to think about it or just glance at the icon. The times that I did use it the information that I wanted was hit or miss, generally miss.

For static information it was ok. But very little in our modern world is static. I could connect to the Encarta web site for more information but having gone through the program it was easier for me to conduct my our search strategy with a variety of search engines, ProQuest and other online resources.

But something about this bothers me. The constriction of verified resources that are now locked behind paid walls of access. There is no need to have a paper encyclopedia anymore - a good one cost a good chunk of change. When a fairly inexpensive software encyclopedia (to purchase, not produce) goes away then how does the average person or parent get access to information?

Yes, some folks do pay for online subscriptions but there are still folks on dial-up connections or schools that need CD/DVD access. As much as we want them to some folks will not come to the library. Let's not forget those students that wait until the last possible moment to write their papers.

I guess I hate to see a loss of affordable resources.

Volunteer Opportunities at Pasadena (CA) Central Library

The main branch needs volunteer assistance with the Pasadena Community Calendar and the online database AccessPasadena.net

What is involved:

• Data entry,
  
• Online research and verification,
• Customer service.

Provides an opportunity to gain inside knowledge of the various facets of public libraries.

Required skills:

• Effective computer skills: software, browser and typing;
• Effective communication skills: telephone and e-mail.
  

Recommended preparation

• Completion of: LIB 1, 10A, Bit25/CIS 1, LIB 102 (Reference) and LIB 105A (Cataloging)
  

Requirements:

• 5 hours per week, Monday- Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm. Flexible schedule.
  
• Minimum commitment of 4 months.

To apply, contact:

Aracely Sustaita
Technology & Information Systems
Pasadena Public Library / Glendale Public Library
626.744.4254 - phone
626.449.2165 - fax

On-Line Language Translation Websites

You are all alone at the desk. You have snuggled up with a book and there is a word in another language. You can't guess at the meaning and you don't feel like browsing through the stacks.

There is help for the linguistically needy. There are free translation websites that will help you translate a word, a paragraph or an entire website.

There are a few cautions before you embrace you new translation tools. These are machines based translations, not human. They will do a good job but language is far more that matching word for word translations. There are concepts and meanings that may not exactly fit from one language to another.

I have used these on-line applications to converse with a friend in France. His English is a lot better than my French, which does not exist. Sometimes I need to explain a concept and I want to sent a letter to him in both English and French to make sure he understands.

He sends me newsletters in French that I have to translate into English. I get the general concept and meaning but there are conceptual errors that can be funny or insulting.

I've used this on the job when I couldn't find an staff interpreter. I always inform the recipient that I am using a translation program. So, let's start our run to the tower with Babel Fish.


Altavista Babelfish now known as Yahoo Babel Fish is an oldie but a goodie. Bablefish will translate a passage or an entire website. Babel Fish can translate certain forms of Chinese as well as the Roman languages.


Reverso will not only translate a passage but if you are skilled in the 2nd language you can add the proper punctuation marks if necessary. There is also a dictionary and if you are a student of languages and need to know how to conjugate a verb this could be of great help.


Google Translate - yes they do have a translation application. You can type in a search term in English and then select the language to find the equivalent term in another language with search results. It will also allow you to enter more than 150 characters of text and it will translate web pages for you. What will blow you away is the number of languages it can translate.

I hope these language tools will be a help to you inside and outside of the library. Just remember they are not a replacement for human interpreters or translators. But they might help out in a pinch if you have a patron that needs written assistance in another language.

More Info On Mind Mapping - Mind42.com

How Do You Find Stuff? I don't mean the specific tool but your own personal process. How do you take in information? How do you learn and how do you organize what you have learned?

For some of us it is a visual process. We need to see the lay of the land before we start digging in. For visual learning mind mapping software can help to organize your thoughts and and create a structure for your reports, projects and goals.

Outlines do not have to be word based. Check out some of the on-line mind mapping applications. This is an example of one of them.

Mind42 is an web application that helps you organize the jumble in your head so that you can see the common and related connections. You can add notes and reminders as well as a Wikipedia page that related to your topic.


This is a silent tutorial video from Mind42 that demonstrates the web application:


Mind42: Introduction from Stefan Schuster on Vimeo.

More Info On Collaboration Tools

The word for today is Collaboration. You will be collaborating with your peers, volunteer organizations and individuals you will never meet.

In the past, collaboration happened in meetings, phone conferences or passing documents back and forth via mail. It is now possible for groups, team members and activists to communicate and exchange information about a project and build a documents, process or create an event.

Look, All I Want To Do Is Shelve Books, Is This Really Important?

Yes it is. I support sniffing book dust but at some point you are going to be asked to participate in a project or presentation. If you haven't taken Library 104 yet this is your pre-warning.

You will find that your team members are time strapped. They have personal and professional obligations in addition to the one they just got roped into. The same as you.

Online collaboration tools make it easy to contribute, edit and present information with a reduction of time lag. The other thing about on-line collaboration is you find out real quick who is the slacker and who delivers what they have promised.

What Is A Wiki?

I'm going to let the good folks at PBWiki help explain this to you.



A wiki is a place where a group of people use software to make it easy to work together on a project. You can upload text, photos, maps or links to places that would support the team's goals. You don't have to be a techie to use a wiki, everything is set up for you to enter your information and put it out to the public or just visible to the folks on your team.

In addition to the ones I mentioned in the Library 101 presentation:

• PBWiki and there is an Academic version of PBWiki for educators, libraries and institutions.
• Backpack It allows you or a team member to organize a project, a work flow or anything else a group of folks want to work on. There are free and paid versions. Check out the video tutorial on the main page.
• GoogleDocs allows you to using an online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software with other team members. So if there is a class report that has to be completed your team could set up the report and members could add to it any place where there is Internet access and at any time. You just need a Google Account and then sign into Goolgle Docs.

These are great tools but not the only one - there are all types of collaboration tools that would fit your budget (free to me) and the kind of resources required. Let's take a look at a few more.



Thinkature - visual collaboration with drawings, outlines and short notes. Remember, not all good ideas arrive via words. Sometimes you have to show in order to tell.

Zoho Notebook - you can add video, photo or text to your Zoho Notebook and keep track of changes made to the project. Zoho has a whole range of free on-line applications such as word processing, wiki, e-mail client, planners and more.

WriteWith is specifically for team documentation. It allows you to set up your team members, the name of the document and the last update. Using WriteWith a team leader can send invitations to team members to review what you have written or edit and include a deadline.

WriteBoard - Place your idea on the write board and have others edit what you have written. You can have a list of team members and you can view comments about the changes in the document.

When you have to get something done with a group of people and there is no time to meet in person then consider using one of these tools to meet and work in cyberspace.

As always, if you have questions please send them in the comments. The comments are moderated so it might take a while to check them out and get back to you.

RSS In Plain English - Captioned Version

For those of you that don't have audio, headphone or a decent audio card this is a captioned version of RSS in Plain English.



What that you say, you have a banana in your ear and still can't see the video. No problem. Here is a transcript:

Common Craft Presents...RSS in Plain English

The Internet has problems. Technorati says there are 50 million blogs, and you can see, it's going up. This is overwhelming. Today's show is about a new and efficient way to keep up...
...with all this cool stuff that's happening on the Internet.

so I'm going to talk about two ways that you can keep up with what's happening on the Web.
There's the old slow way - Boo!!! Then, there's the new and fast way - Yay!

Here's the difference between the new and the old way. This is you, and here are your favorite websites. You log on to your computer, and you're looking for something new. So you go out to your favorite blogs.Is there anything new there? No. You go out to your favorite news sites. Is there anything new? No.

Every time you look for something new and its not there, you've wasted valuable time.
This is the old way. Now, let's consider the new and fast way, ...which is simply taking these arrows...and turning them the other way.

This means the new things from blogs and new things from your news sites come to you instead.
It's like Netflix compared to going to the video store. So, what we're talking about is using a single website that becomes your home for reading......all the new stuff that's coming from your favorite websites.

There are two steps to getting started. The first step is you need a "home" for reading new posts. This is a website called a reader. It is free and all you need is an account. I use a site called Google Reader It looks like this...

My favorite sites are listed on the left...and on the right I can scroll through all the new posts from my favorite sites in a single place. So, to complete step one...
You need to go sign up for a reader. Google Reader, Bloglines, Newsgator and My Yahoo!
... are good places to start.

Step number two...is to set up a connection between your reader and your favorite websites.
Setting up these connections is called subscribing, and it's really important. Nearly every blog and news site offers the ability for you to subscribe...so updates in these sites show up here in your reader.

To set up these subscriptions, you just need to look for funny little icons. This is the standard one using the standard orange color. You may also see these.

These little icons say, "Hey look! Subscribe to me! I can save you time!" Once you find one of these buttons on your favorite site......click on it....and the page that appears will give you everything you need for subscribing.

After you click that button, one of two types of pages will appear. This is one that provides one click access to subscribing in your reader. The other page you're likely to see looks like this...
...with code on it.

If you see this page, copy the URL at the top of the page....go to your reader and look for a link that says "Add Subscription" or "Add Feed." Click on that, and paste the address into your reader. So, once you've added your subscriptions and the connection is there...
...new posts begin arriving in your reader...and you'll see why this is the new, faster way to read the web. It's addictive, so be careful!

So a quick recap. There are two things you need to do... Number one is go sign up for a reader.
Number two, go to your favorite websites... ...click on the icon and subscribe.

I'm Lee LeFever and this has been RSS in Plain English...on The Common Craft Show.

For more captioned videos you should visit DotSub

More Info On RSS Readers - Library 101 Presentation

In my presentation I mentioned that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. What that means is if you really like the blog and want to be alerted to new content you can copy a bit of code that will connect and keep you up to date with new content.

It is similar to a magazine subscription; you like the magazine and you want to receive it on a regular basis. Unlike magazines there is no fee involved and you can start and stop at any time.

Another way to look at it is there use to be three television networks that created content. After the program was canceled or finished its run it would go into syndication where other television stations could air the show when they wanted to show it to you. Most times it was 4:30a.m.

Instead of a company distributing the content when it wants to the user or patron gets to decide what content to received from millions of choices.

What You Need To Get Started

You will need to have what is called a RSS Reader. This is software that looks at the code, goes to the website or blog and transmits the new content to you. In class, I showed you Bloglines which is a free service that you can use to keep track of your favorite blogs, podcasts and web videos.

If you look at the bottom of the PCC Libtech blog you will see two buttons. One of them is for Bloglines. After you set up your account you can click that button and subscribe to the blog. The orange icon is another way to subscribe to content for other applications and services that use that format.

If you are a Google Guy/Gal no worries. If you use Google applications and services you just need to activate your Google Reader account. Google has a tour page that will explain the process.

Now I've tried to give a basic explanation but there a video that will make it crystal clear. Back in 2007 I wrote about the Common Craft videos and this is an example of my RSS In Plain English post from 2007. Definitely check the video out; it will help you understand and get you started building your link collections.

Big Huge Labs - Writer Text Editor

There is something to be said for simplicity. No bells or doo-dads to get in your way. Just a woman and her text editor. Text editor? Have I gone retro?


Yes, I guess I have. For the moment anyway. I am not forsaking my word processing programs. But there are times when looking at a blank white screen is intimidating. I wander. I find things that I shouldn't be fooling with when I need to crank stuff out.

But for some reason gazing at a black screen with green type takes me back to the days when all I could do was type. And words starts to stream out of my left side of the brain.

Here are some of the advantages of using an on-line text editor:

• You can use it anytime, anywhere that you are on the Internet.
  
• For students it is a quick tool you can use to do research and copy citations and web addresses into the program.
  
• It has a spell checker and a word counter.
  
• Writer will allow you to save what you have written as a text file, or as a .pdf file. You can email it to yourself. I had a problem doing that. It never let me enter my email address.
• It is free as in no cost to you. But if you really like it you can make a donation.
  

You can customize the type and the color. Green is not you thing, go old school Orange/Amber. So everything old is new again. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Zotero - Reference Manager for Your Browser

Oh the joy, the rapture. I would have paid for it if I had know where to find it. Zotero, where have you been all my life? I learned about this little beauty from the InfoLit ListServ and I have plugged it in for immediate use.

Zotero is a reference manager add-in for Firefox, Netscape and Flock browsers. Yes, you Microsoft Internet Explorer folks are temporarily locked out of this goody. You add the plug in to your browser and then re-start.

You will be able to cite all kinds of material from just about anyway you travel on or off the Net. Books from WorldCat, MP3 and podcast, presentations, webcasts, journals, articles and more. You can copy and past your reference notes and export what you need as a RTF, HTML or even paper format. It is the merger of the best of the old reference techniques and new information management in one package.

All this and it is free.  Free and well documented. There is a demo on the front page that give an overview of the product. There is also a page of screencast tutorials that show you the basic function of how to use Zotero.

After losing all of my bookmarks/favorites not to mention the daily research I do just snooping around the Internet I needed a better way to log my travels. It is becoming increasingly important that we all have to start documenting our sources and find what we need quickly.  Not just for library staff but bloggers, writers, journalists or others who transfer thoughts to a fixed format.

I'm giving it a test run and if there are hick-ups I'll let you know but so far it is quarter past slick.

I feel you pain Mircrosofties so I'll see if I can find an equivalent product for you I.E. folks.

Free Introduction to WestLaw Class At Pasadena Central Library

Sarah Sabasteanski of the L. A. County Library will be teaching a free Introduction to WestLaw class. Class topics include locating legal forms, state and federal case law, court rulings and more.

The class will meet Wednesday, May 7 between 12:00 noon and 1:00pm. The class is located at the Pasadena (CA) Public Library, the Central branch on Walnut. To register visit the Pasadena Public Library Training page.

EditGrid - Online Collaborative Spreedsheet

Picture this. You are working at a library that has Internet access but really old versions of Microsoft Office. Or you are working on a team project where you need data from a variety of people.

Those people maybe in the same building, across the state or across the globe. You've got numbers to crunch. You have Microsoft Office, Open Office or access to Google Docs but you need to be able to collaborate with other folks entering information. Google Docs does have spreadsheet collaboration but does it do it in real time or with an Instant Messaging connection?

You might want to take a look at EditGrid. If you know Lotus 123 or Excel you can handle EditGrid. Now when you need to share spreadsheet info with team members it is a lot easier.
You can upload an existing spreadsheet or create one from scratch.

The neat part is the options that are available to users. You can:

• Keep the spreadsheet private or set the viewing and participation rights to the spreadsheet
• Use Instant Messaging to communicate inside of the EditGrid about the spreadsheet
• Create a workspace for contributors for just their area of input.

If that wasn't enough they are working on a version of EditGrid that can be used on a iPhone.

So What Is the Catch?

The spreadsheets are hosted on EditGrid servers. If EditGrid goes out of business and you haven't saved a local copy then you could loose your work. But you know to save a backup copy of anything you can't afford to lose, right?

EditGrid has three user options. The free version is for home and personal professional use. There is a limit of a 2MB upload however you can have a many spreadsheets as you want. You still can share and make use of the live chat options.

The other versions, Subscription and Licensed are fee based but allow you to have access to more features like a custom log in page, connection behind firewalls and account administration.

Health Information Island - A Trip Via Second Life

This is a silent video on how health information is being displayed in Second Life.



I don't have much to say about this. I get a little misty when I see vapors of the future start to emerge.

Twitter in Plain English by Common Craft

What is Twitter? Twitter is a free web based application that let you sent messages of 140 characters to cell phones, instant messaging program, Twitter pages or any other capable receiver.

Caption version can be viewed at DotSub

To be honest, I don't Twitter. Not yet. I have enough to do in my day. Some folks seem to think I run off at the mouth a bit too much anyway. That doesn't mean I dislike Twitter, it has multiple purposes but I'm just not there yet.

Library Uses of Twitter

Twitter can be used as a means to alert patrons - Jeff at Gather No Dust has a post on how his library uses Twitter with Google Calendar and RSS fees to notify patrons of events and new books.

Twitter can also be used to staying in contact with special populations such as youth, poets or mystery writers by alerting them to events happening at the library. Here is an example of how the Cleveland Public Library uses Twitter.

To learn more about Twitter for library use visit iLibraian there is a guide page on how to get started with Twitter, some of the uses and tools to up your Twitter level. Librarian David Lee King has a post on Twitter Explained for Libraries. You can always go to the source the Twitter FAQ for more information about the service.

Google For Educators - Oogle The Goods

Google For Educators is designed for Teachers, Librarians, Parents who instruct or anyone that has anything to do with transmitting information from one group of people to another.

You don't have to be in a classroom to appreciate some of the assistance Google is providing. For LT's in Library 10a 101 or 102 you definitely want to check out the poster section where you can download posters on how to perform better searches with Google.

Other Items To Peruse:

Under Tools For Educators there is a collection of Google Apps that educators can use however when you click the link next to "Google Maps" you get an explanation of how it can be use to explain what it does and how it could be incorporated into a lesson.

There is also Google Apps for Education where you as an instructor/facilitator can make use of GMail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Spreadsheets to collaborate with either team members or with participants. These are free online applications that can be targeted for a variety of purposes.

The Google Custom Search Engine would allow you to create a mini version of the Google Search that you could tailor to students. It is not hard and the do have a .pdf document that tells you how to create and then added it to a web site or blog.

Creating Tutorials & Demos - AuthorStream & AuthorPoint Lite

AuthorStream is a service that allows you to upload Microsoft Powerpoint presentations and host on the site. This may leave users of other presentation software out of luck unless OpenOffice Impress and Apple Keynote users convert the presentation to the .PPT or .PPS formats.



This is an example of an AuthorStream presentation. AuthorStream is free. I checked out the FAQ and you do have choices such as:

• Your presentation can be private or public. Private presentations can be uploaded but only those who are given an invitation can view the presentation. Public presentations (like the examples I've posted below) are open to be viewed and shared by any user.
• You can make use of some of the transitions available in PowerPoint, but trust me, less is more.
• You can have an RSS feed that folks could subscribe to your presentations.
  

With any of the free hosting services I do feel the need to mention if they disappear or go out of business so does your presentation. Make sure you have a back-up copy.

Other Examples from AuthorStream:

• Introduction to Open Educational Resources
• Education Tips on Powerpoint Presentations
• Library Instruction - Active Learning and Humor

AuthorPoint Lite

Here is where it gets interesting. AuthorPoint Lite is a free PowerPoint to Flash converter. You create your presentation, convert it using AuthorPoint Lite and then upload it to AuthorStream or your blog/website (if you know how to code the HTML)

Flash Animations can be seen by most users so it is (almost) a universal format. There are some accessibility issues. If you like the format of AuthorStream and are looking for a way to upload via Flash animations you should check out the information page.

AuthorGen (creators of AuthorStream and AuthoPoint Lite) do have a commerical version of the product for sale that has additional features.

Creating Tutorials & Demos - Converting Presentations to Tutorials

You have presentation software. You may have a copy of:

• Microsoft PowerPoint (Windows & Macintosh versions)
• Corel Presentation (Windows)
• OpenOffice Impress (Windows, Macintosh and Linux versions) or some equivalent of a presentation program.
  

Click To View Flash Video

Click to View the Windows Video
Click To View QuickTime Video

Advantages

• You can quickly build simple presentations or make them as complex as you need.
• The ability to export out an individual side or a complete slide presentation in .gif, .jpg/jpeg or .png formats. This gives you the ability to use another program to upload to a blog or website.
• Some of the programs can export out to the Adobe.pdf and Flash.swf formats.

Disadvantages:

• In the native file formats it is hard or impossible to post on a website or blog.
• You still need a photo or video web host and the code necessary to display on your blog or website.
• In the case of Microsoft PowerPoint you can post presentations on-line. However if the user is not using Microsoft Internet Explorer they may not see the presentation or certain features will be disabled.
• The process is not as simple as it needs to be for novice users. It is a time swamp for those that have experience.
  

Since the goal is to upload the tutorial or demo for on line viewing that it where attention will be focused.

If you have “An old PC that runs Windows 95/98/Windows ME and next to no budget” option.

(Please tell me that this computer is not connected to the Internet and that you are doing the presentation on that computer but you will walk it over to an updated XP/Vista computer. On second thought, I don't want to know.)

There is an oldie but goodie known as DubIt from TechSmith. DubIt allows you to import photos and slides from presentations saved in the .gif and .jpg formats. You can add music or audio narration. DubIt saves the tutorial in either the .avi (an older windows movie video format) or Real Media format. I suggest that you save it in the .avi format.

You can then upload to a free video web host like Blip.tv, OurMedia.org or TeacherTube After you have uploaded the video you will then copy the code necessary to display the tutorial on your blog or web site. It is the same concept you used when you uploaded your photos to a photo web hosting site.

Click To View Flash Video
Click to View QuickTime Video

This is an example of how I created the above tutorial using DubIt.

If you have “An new PC that runs Windows XP and next to no budget” then you can take advantage of Microsoft Photo Story 3. It is free to legal owners of Windows XP. It is a similar process, you export presentation in either .gif or jpg/jpeg format and then import them into Microsoft Photo Story 3.

Click To View Flash Video
Click to View QuickTime Video

I have to tell you there are much easier ways of doing this. There are a bunch of pitfalls that can occur such as losing audio when converting into another format or unexpected glitches that you have to spend time figuring out.

Next time - the online slide creation applications.

Creating Tutorials & Demos - Screen Captures

Screen captures are great for computer based tutorials and demonstrations. These images can be embedded in word processing documents, web pages, blogs or other types of documentation.

You can also use these images in a photo or slide animation tutorial or a flash animation movie.

If you are a Window user your have the "Print Screen (aka Prt Scr) key on your keyboard. Mac Users (depending on what version of the operating system you are running) can press Shift+Command+3 or Command+4.

Teacher Tap has a really nice page to explain how to capture And if you want to see how you do a screen capture or grab you can watch this tutorial video from About.com, Capture and Save a Screen Shot in Windows XP with Don Schechter.

For those of you on Windows Vista check out Sue Chastain's article on Screen Capture with Windows Vista

However, the built in print screen functions have limits and liabilities: The image file in the clipboard is saved in the .bmp (on the Windows operating system). If you need to post the image on the Internet you will have to first paste it in a photo editing software and then convert it to a .gif, .jpg or .png image file.

In addition you can only grab the entire screen or the active window. You then would have to spend more effort customizing the image to get what you want.

Benefits of Screen Capture Software

These applications give you are lot of choices and features that can help to speed up the process of snagging screen images. Some of the advantages are:

• You can zoom in on just the region of the screen you want to concentrate on,
• You can select the file format that best suites your needs
• You can add captions, call outs or have the cursor appear or not appear

Free Windows Screen Capture Software

• Gadwin Print Screen 4.1 - I have been using Gadwin Print Screen for years. It is clean, simple and gets the job done. The free version can capture a region of the screen, an active window or the full screen.
  
• Screen Grab 1.1. Extremely small file size and no mouse necessary
  
• SWB Capture - If you have an old computer running Windows 95, 98, 2000 or ME this is the software for you. It can only capture full screen or the active window like the Print Screen key but does give you the choice of saving in .gif or .jpg.
  

Commercial Screen Capture Software - Windows

• Capture-Eze I've used this product on my day job and it is fine. The new version can save to a high resolution .tiff file, print image catalogs and Internet pages.
• Gadwin Print Screen Pro the paid version comes with an image editor and you have the ability to add captions or annotations to you images.
  
• Gadwin Web Snap Shots adds a feature to Microsoft Internet Explorer that allows you to snap images of web pages with annotations.
• Snag-It from TechSmith is an excellent full featured screen capturing program. If you are going to create tutorials on a regular basis. This is the one to have, it can do everything you will need or ever need at a very fair price. And for those of you that Skype, you can send a screen shot or video as your conference call is in progress.
  

Macintosh Screen Capture Software

• Ambrosia Software SnapPro - captures images and can create movies from screen activities. This is a link to a short video by Tom Woozle on how simple it is to use the program. Saves images in .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .png, .tif and Adobe and Photoshop formats
  
• Paparazzi is free screen capture software for Mac OX 10.3 and above users.
  
• ScreenTool can record the active window, full screen in addition to timed/sequential image captures.
  

Next time - what are you going to do with those images? Animate them via slide shows (no, not necessarily with PowerPoint). We'll look at the free online slide show and presentation program that can display your presentations, tutorials and demonstrations.

Creating Tutorials & Demos - Posting Photos #2

You have your images and you have prepared them for your tutorial. You now need a place to store your photos.

The images that you see on blogs and web pages are actually located at a specific location on a host computer.

The text below is the HTML code needed for Blogger to show you the photo:

The HTML code is required to tell the browser where the image is located and how to display the photo. That location can be a personal web page from your ISP, a business web site or a web based photo hosting company.

The process is:

• Upload the photo,
• Add the HTML code to your blog or web site,
• Upload the new blog post or web site,
• Your photo will appear in your blog.
  

The easy way for newbies and non-technical people place a photo in a blog or web page is to use one of the free photo web hosting services. Not only will they host your photo, you have the option to make that photo public or private and most of them will give you the correct HTML code to place in your blog.

Before you upload - please make sure you have a backup copy of the images. If your photo web host goes bye-bye so does your images. Never post anything without a backup copy.

These are a few of the major free services:

• Flickr is owned by Yahoo. If you have a Yahoo account you have a Flickr account. For more info on how to use Flickr visit http://www.flickr.com/help/faq
• Photobucket http://photobucket.com For tutorials on how to use Photobucket visit http://tutorials.photobucket.com
• Zoomr has support in multiple languages To learn about the service check out the FAQ at http://zooomrlearnmore.wiki.zoho.com/Zooomr-FAQ-June-15-2007.html
  

If you are old school or you want to know what the correct HTML code is to upload photo from your web site then here is the HTML syntax you will need.

Basically the code states that the image can be found at Flickr, the name is dancer.jpg and the width and height of the photo. There is a one pixel border around the photo and this is the text version of what the image is about.

This is the accessible version of the code so that screen readers and adaptive devices can properly convey the photo information. In my most public confession yet I admit that I often forget to use the Alt code. I shall try to do better.

Gold Coast Web Design has a good plain English explanation of how to use the IMG tag with photo examples.