1. What are Screencasts?
The
wikipedia definition for a "screencast" is: A screencast is a digital
recording of computer screen output, often containing audio narration.
Visit our
Wiki to get more infomation on how to make a screencast.
2. What is bioscreencast.com?
Bioscreencast.com is a free online video tutorial library for biotools. It is a community website to upload and share screencasts.
Our goal is to build a community of life science researchers and provide a
platform to share knowledge on usage of science tools.
3. Can I upload screencasts?
Yes! You need to signin to use the upload feature. Once you signin, click the upload button, and you can upload to the site. To learn more about the upload feature
watch this screencast.
4. How do I watch screencasts?
You will need the quicktime plugin to watch most screencasts on this site. Since users can upload screencasts of any format to the site, you will need the appropriate plugin for that as well, for example if the screencast happens to be in flash, you will need the flash plug-in to view it. Here are some links to common plugins if you need them:
Quicktime,
Flash,
Windows Media Player.
5. Do I need a specific browser for this website?
The beta-version of this website has been tested with
Firefox and
Safari browsers. We are currently working on making the site available on IE 7.0 for the general release of bioscreencast.com.
6. Do I need to login to view screencasts?
No, you do not need to login to view screencasts. You can browse and view screencasts from the
library
7. Can I pause a screencast and re-play?
Yes. Like any other movie, you can pause, rewind, fast-forward a screencast.
For Quicktime player, the "Pause/Play" button is in the bottom left corner
and the "Track Forward/Back" buttons are in the bottom right hand corner.
8. What are Categories?
The available screencasts have been put into broad categories based on
their content. The
Categories box in the top left corner of the
library lists all the current categories
and the number of screencasts available in each category. Once signed in, the user is given the option of creating a new category during upload.
9. Can I search by categories?
No, but you can filter by categories. Just click on one of the categories in the
Categories box in the top left corner,
of the
library and only the screencasts in that category will appear on the right.
10. What are Tags?
The
wikipedia definition for a "tag" is: A tag is a (relevant) keyword
or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information (like picture,
article, or video clip), thus describing the item and enabling keyword-based
classification of information it is applied to.
11. Can I search by tags?
Yes. The search box is on the top right section of the bioscreencast banner on the
library page. Watch a screencast on search
here.
12. How does the search function work?
You can search for specific screencasts by typing a keyword in the search
bar in the top right corner of the webpage and then hitting "enter".
The search bar also supports the auto-complete. You can also watch our screencast tutorial which covers search
here.
13. Where can i get detailed information about a screencast from the library?
There are 2 ways of getting details about a screencast:
First, in the library, you can select the 'show summary' drop-down and select details, tags or web links.
Second, if you are signed in, and click on a screencast to watch it, you will see a menu bar appear on the left of the window. Click it, and it will open up to show you more details about the screencast you are watching as well as related screencasts and tabs for leaving comments and relevant urls.
14. If I encounter some problem viewing/uploading content, what do i do?
Please send us a quick email by clicking on the
contact link on the top right, and let us know what problems you encounter. Click
here and cut/paste what you see in your browser into the message of the contact window. This will help us identify what could be causing the problem.
