Saturday, April 27, 2013

Lesson 7: Blogs as Instructional Tools

Lately in LIS periodicals, there has been a new focus on the DIY patron, or the patron who won't ask for help (or is too far away to ask for help) but needs help nonetheless. Blogs are a great way to reach out to libraries' more timid patrons and offer them the help they need.

Creating online instructional content is one such way librarians can do this (Farkas, 2012). Examples of this content include instructional videos, instant messaging with librarians, and e-pamphlets published by the library and posted on the library website or blog.

The difficulty with these types of resources, though, lies in the fact that basic computer literacy is a requirement in order to access this information. But if a patron knows how to navigate the Internet, type, and perform basic mouse functions, a world of possibilities opens up in the DIY realm.

I recently tried my hand at creating my own online instructional content, and I was met with many challenges. Not only did the content have to be thorough and accurate, but also, it had to be easy to read and easy to navigate. I decided to use StoryJumper, a free online tool, to write a children's book explaining how to use e-mail. Here it is--take a look, and tell me what you think.

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2 comments:

  1. I really liked your StoryJumper. The aliens were cute. Did you find that site easy to use?

    Samantha

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Samantha--

      I did find it easy to use, which was kind of alarming after my experience trying out Prezi for the first time. ;) Anyway, I think that because it's made for children, StoryJumper has a simpler interface and clearer instructions. It kind of got me thinking, why can't everything be explained the way you would explain it to a child? E-government sites, for one thing, would be so much easier to navigate and understand if they provided bulleted, large print instructions that could be understood even by people with low literacy skills.

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