oh, the technology!

I had more trouble this week than I anticipated. Not with the technology itself--I've learned to be fairly good about being willing to experiment with new things--but with the issue of recording myself and the issue of what, exactly, is worth taking the time *to* record (and for what things recording could be the best approach). I have always been pretty self-conscious about how I look and sound in video/audio recordings. I have always been pretty self-conscious, period, but I'm much better about it than I used to be. And yet, evidently, some hang-ups remain. Skyping with friends is totally fine, but recording myself and putting the video up for people to see?? Eeek! And then there's the issue of how you always sound different in a recording than you do in your own head and it's so weird... So this week has forced me out of my comfort zone in major ways. Also, since I don't have a pre-existing class to work from, I've had to wrestle with the issue of what information is best to convey in audio or video and which bits may be beneficial to have available for the students to use since I'm very much hoping to use these screencasts and such on the library website going forward. I knew I was going to have to start working on that sort of thing (especially now that we're going to be starting fully online programs soon), so I might as well use this opportunity! Fortunately, I was asked a few questions by students recently that gave me ideas for everything but the avatar... and yes, agonizing over what to have an animated character say is just how I roll. Being forced encouraged to use audio and video tools also means I have to confront my usual dislike for information that's only conveyed in audio/video format. Give me text any day--it's more flexible for how I do things (e.g. the reference desk computer has no speakers and sound wouldn't work well in that setting anyway), I can refer back to specific sections much more easily, I read faster than people speak... I'm well aware that some people do better with audio and/or video, but my preferences definitely do not run that direction. If some audio or video online has a transcript, you'd better believe I'll be reading the transcript. (Transcripts aren't just useful for people with disabilities!) So that means that along with figuring out what to record, I'm thinking about how else I can present the information for people like me. Sometimes I wonder if it would just be better to do a page of step-by-step with screenshots (which is what we did at my tech support job in college) than bothering with a video in the first place. If nothing else, it's easier to update text and pictures than a whole video when things change, as they inevitably will. And, I have to say, I am surprised at how unintuitive Google Sites is! Google stuff is usually so straightforward, but I have spent way too much time going in circles trying to figure out where a particular setting is and how, exactly, do I modify this or that again? No wonder I've had students asking me questions as they're trying to work on their own sites! That said, I see potential for using this when I work with classes. I've been debating the best way to put together, say, specific recommendations for a particular assignment, and I think creating a page on Google may be a good way to go. It could also be used for in-class activities. I'll have to experiment and see how it goes.