Get Animated! Creating a Memorable Library Welcome with PowToon

Abstract

It's a common beginning‐of‐semester scene: a large group of first‐year students and a series of brief presentations by a variety of representatives from campus offices and programs. The presentations are all intended to simultaneously welcome the new students, explain how the campus organizations contribute to student success, and introduce them to some friendly faces. It can be challenging, however, in such an impersonal and large venue to really make a connection with students and convey both the spirit and content of your message in a satisfying way. When it's your turn to represent the library, how can you make your 10‐minute talk compelling, memorable, and fun? Try getting outside your comfort zone, and experiment with a new presentation method.

This session will describe how PowToon (www.powtoon.com), a free animated presentation tool, was used to create a live narrated, cartoon‐like introduction to the libraries for a campus orientation event for new students. The process of developing the script and using the animations to highlight our student learning outcomes in an engaging way will be discussed. Reactions to the format, tips for developing animated library presentations, and ideas for further use of this versatile tool will also be included.

The two animated videos created for this presentation can be viewed on PowToon:

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

4-7-2014

Notes/Citation Information

A presentation at the First National Personal Librarian & First Year Experience Library Conference in Cleveland, OH.

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