oral

Pat Matsuo's G13 409a2000 Oral Presentation of Corinne Y.C. Laverty's

"Library Instructions on the Web: Inventing Options and Opportunities"

By The Hawthorne Press, Incorporated (Pages 55-66)

Instructions for This Report Summary: Instruction Program: Overheads:
Back-up System:

Comprehensive Pathfinders: "How-to" Guides: Interactive Tutorials: Evaluating Guides and Tutorials: My Overall Reaction:

Questions Asked: Dr. James' Home Page Back Next Page Psy 409 Home Page

My Home Page

Summary:

Corinne Laverty is an instructional librarian at Stauffer Library. Her field deals with teaching other instructional librarians about the web as a medium for teaching others. The paper dictates how the web can function as a learning aid for students near and far. The limitations are no longer the classrooms, but the imaginations of librarian. The role as librarians is to learn to perform expert searches on the world wide web and to teach their strategies to others.

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Instruction Program:

The opening page is the initial contact point for the workshops. It has short sections that describe the successful library research techniques, as well as links to many other pathfinders. It is basic, but it links to a calendar, seasonal workshops, a synopsis of successful search techniques, student evaluations of the site called "Research Strategy", and a sign up for workshop times in the future (all with hard copies at the reference desk).

Laverty describes how the opening page should look and function. She bases her criteria on her own opening page.

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Overheads:

HTMLs used as slides for instructions. The system is set up so that one can project onto a screen, what the browser contains. The HTML files serve as portable overheads that can either be in the form of slides, via Power Point, or web pages, via a web page editor. They can also be made available to students by loading them onto the student's own computer. The librarians' advantages are not having to go back and forth from the HTML graphics to the web browser, while teaching.

Here, Laverty describes how simple computer files can be utilized to make projections. You can even project them onto large screens, so that the whole class can see what you are talking about. Also, students can see the exact screen or commands that you are referring to.

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Back-up System:

Captured screens or stills can readily simulate a live demonstration using programs like Lotus Screen Cam or Camera Man. Yet, files are large and not practical, but one can use Paint Shop Pro (PSP) to make and access demonstrations. The files created can be saved as GIFs or JPEGs, which can be accessed via Netscape or the Internet Explorer. You can open the file by selecting the "File" command, but if it is linked via a HTML with an icon that prompts to the next screen, it can move smoother. These are the basic steps:

1. Open PSP and the data base you wish to capture.

2. Use "Alt"and "Tab" to switch from the PSP screen in front of you to the preceding Windows screen. Use "Alt" and "Esc" to clear unwanted screens.

3. Under the "Capture" menu in PSP select "area" or "Full Screen". Area allows you to specify to the area being captured.

4. Save the file as a GIF image, format version 89a, in a designated back up folder.

Laverty describes the technique used to take a copy of the entire screen you see on the computer and paste it onto another program, where you can make visual notes about the screen. I think this would be very helpful for those who can not visualize what someone is explaining to them.

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Comprehensive Pathfinders:

The pathfinder is like a table on contents. It allows the viewer to select their own area of interests, via a visual field. Here are some key points:

1. Use a table format for the menu, with all choices available.

2. Add research strategy (key internet resources, search techniques for pertinent data bases, how to evaluate information found, prepare a bibliography, and write a short essay.

3. Build helpful links to data bases and tutorials or guide sheets on how to use them.

4. Information should be separated into individual files for ease of printing or quick loading. A complex file list could be used, but warn the about the length of download time.

All of these key points are designed to make pathfinders quick, straight to the point, and easy to understand.

Pathfinders are tools that help one find the topic they are searching for. It is easier than looking through tens of lines of text, for your topic of interest. I agree with her stance and find that it is very hard on my eyes to scroll through hundreds of words for pertinent information. I find myself wishing for a button or something that would just take me to where I want to go in a simple click.

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"How-to" Guides:

Html tables are excellent ways to present command summaries. The capture techniques used here depicts the entire screen, including all of the menus and its offers a way to put information or explanations on the captured screen.

User-Centered Instructions:

1. No unnecessary terms or jargons.

2. Use point form actin language when illustrating commands.

3. No overviews or introductions other than a simple line of text.

4. Consider what consumers want with the product.

5. Use charts and boxes to illustrate various commands.

6. Replicate commands exactly as seen on the screen.

7. Give commands in the context of screens.

8. Use precise examples.

9. Explain acronyms and abbreviations.

10. Maintain consistency of terms being used. Do not keep changing them.

11. Include frequently asked questions.

12. Keep documents short and directed to the selected audience.

13. Use instructions for basic principles.

14. Provide an e-mail contact and the last date that the site was updated.

Graphics:

1. Use a standard layout.

2. Use captured screens.

3. Show a consistency in graphics and size and organization.

4. Use graphics for a specific purpose.

5. When using graphics, include a short point form of explanation and include the required criterion, for the user.

6. Use white spaces and boxes (a table) to indicate frequently used commands.

7. Highlight search strategies by grouping the steps together to form a process that one would use repeatedly.

8. Color-code handouts and use signals to designate where they are from.

9. Have the option to download or print the entire guide, and include a warning for the download time.

The guidelines are laid out to speed up the loading of pages and to present pages that are not cluttered. The easier information can disseminate, the easier it is to learn the information.

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Interactive Tutorials:

To use miniature screens as tutorials, use ClarisWorks and optimize the size and take out all of the unnecessary things. You can also include an "action" line that has a short caption or explanation. The use of captured screens allows the viewer to see the actual screens they should be at, as well as how the commands chosen affects the screen and other aspects of the site. Key points:

1. Use Claris Works. View using Netscape and make the screens as large as possible. Screens should be simplified and arrows should point to key ideas and actions.

2. Use Paint Shop Pro to capture screens as GIFs.

3. Use Lview Pro to change the background, so there is no shading effect.

4. The GIF is linked to an HTML file which provides an icon that prompts to the next screen.

I think that this part shows how to show actual screens for the purpose of teaching and illustrating examples. With the actual screens present, there can be little confusion left to the participant. I wonder if there are programs other than Claris Works that can be used, because Claris Works is very expensive.

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Evaluating Guides and Tutorials:

Encourage the effort of filling out evaluation forms after the guide. This may help bring attention to flaws in the program. Also, have both novices and more experienced users try the tutorial and rate its effectiveness.

The more feedback one can obtain, the better your web page can be. There are many people out there who can give helpful suggestions and help find some flaws in your programs. A flawless program would be better for the user and as an instructional tool.

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My Overall Reaction:

I found this section very helpful. It showed me the potential that my webpage can have. I also learned how to capture screens and in what way they could be useful to someone else. In my experiences with this chapter, I learned how to use the "Shift" and the "Print Screen" button to capture a screen. I also used Word Perfect to Paste the screen, but I could not draw arrows directly onto the captured item. I also accept the fact that navigation tables are very helpful in simplifying locating pertinent information.

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Questions Asked:

Caroline Vore wants to know:

1. Do you have teachers that use the web in Lectures? Is this helpful?

Yes, I do have two teachers who use the web to help them teach. This allows them to supply the students with their notes and it provides a clearer visual presentation.

2. Do you find pathfinders to be helpful?If yes, or no, how and why?

Basically, pathfinders cut down on the time spent searching for the relevant topics. Nad you cna use pathfinders everyday, and not only on the computer. You can use the table of contents on your book as a pathfinder for the topic you need to read or study about.

3. Why are FAQs so important?

They offer us the chance to fix any glitches and keep an update on how our programs are working.

Kimberlee Kunichika writes:

1. Can you give an eample of a pathfinder?

A pathfnder is located on the left-hand side of this box (tale of contents).

2. Did you apply the guidelines for web page designs to your own?

I tried to, but I do not know if I was successful.

Sharlen Kawamura wants to know:

1. What kind of research methods do you think people, esp. college students would find helpful when surfing the web?

I think trying differnet search engines would be great. Different search engines and browsers use different methods to accumulate and arrange their information.

Ryan Ho asks:

1. How does a back up system facilitate a search for related materials?

It does not help with searches. Back ups are there to insure that the information created and stored is not lost totally.

2. How do JPEGs and GIFs decrease loading times?

The more complex a picture is, the more the computer has to work to decode and compose it. You would use JPEGs to store or present pictures with great details that you would want others to see. The less clarity and color you need, the more you can use GIFs, and since GIFs have less complexity, they take less time to download and load.

Mei Watson wants to know:

1. Would you use a pathfinder or create one for yourself?

Definitely, because they make finding what you want a lot easier.

2. Did the HTML hints help you write your psy 409 homepage?

Yes, in deciding whether or not to use JPEGs or GIFs.

Dr. James asks:

1. What is a pathfinder?

A pathfinder is anything used to organize information into an easily understood manner. For instance, looking at a book's table of contents to look for a chapter on the psychobiology of the brain, and then looking at the subchapters to find out about norepinephrine and its effect on the brain. Another example would be to look at the left of your screen and use the table of contents.

2. What is a data base?

A data base is a resource of organized information.

3. What is a bibliography?

This is a section where one would acknowledge the resources one has obtained information from, if they did so. So, a bibliography for this oral report would look like:

Laverty, Corinne Y.C., "Library Instructions on the Web: Inventing Options and Opportunities",

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Instructions for This Report	Summary:	Instruction Program:	Overheads:	Back-up System:
Comprehensive Pathfinders:	"How-to" Guides:	Interactive Tutorials:	Evaluating Guides and Tutorials:	My Overall Reaction:
Questions Asked:	Dr. James' Home Page	Back	Next Page	Psy 409 Home Page
		My Home Page