How To Effectively Use Videos In eLearning

How To Effectively Use Videos In eLearning
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Summary: There are more than 1 billion active users on YouTube, and every minute close to 400 hours worth of video content is uploaded to this platform. With the advent of mobile devices, people are spending more and more time in watching videos – for entertainment as well as for education. Per mobile session, the average time spent on YouTube is 40 minutes! The eLearning industry has no option but to adapt to these changing habits of the learners. The supporters of interactive eLearning are vouching for videos in eLearning courses as one of the most prominent trends.

Why Use Videos In eLearning?

9 Key Benefits of Using Video In eLearning

Here are nine of the key benefits of using videos in eLearning:

  1. Videos help in keeping the learners engaged with the course; much better than simple page turners.
  2. Videos are very demonstration-friendly; explaining a complex concept becomes easier with the use of videos.
  3. It is seen that through videos learners are able to store information easily.
  4. Videos help in capturing quick attention.
  5. Videos are great for building a good rapport with the learners.
  6. Videos are a great tool for reinforcing the information which has been taught verbally.
  7. It has been seen that videos are great tools for triggering discussions.
  8. Videos help in improving the overall learning experience by inviting the learners to think and analyze.
  9. Simulations, used prominently in training courses on processes, can realize the full potential through videos.

5 Tips For Effective Use Of Videos In eLearning

Here are 5 key tips for effective use of videos in your eLearning:

  1. Keep them short.
    Long videos tend to get boring and the learners can start losing interest in the content. Unless you are making the video interactive, keep them short and focused on one concept at a time. The information grasping becomes easy when the video is less than 5 minutes long.
  2. Keep long videos interactive.
    In case you don’t have an option but to have longish videos, make them interactive. Ask learners for feedback, reinforce the concepts through quick summaries, or throw in some quizzes. You can also introduce branching scenarios and let the learners choose what they want to see next.
  3. Use transcript.
    Don’t assume that everyone will have sound cards or headphones. Provide transcripts for the videos which can make it easy to follow those even for differently-abled learners.
  4. Pay attention to file sizes.
    Slow loading videos can cause a lot of frustration to learners. Consider creating a separate version for playing on low bandwidths. Use good compressors to reduce the size of the videos.
  5. Use videos for scenarios and simulations.
    Videos can be very well leveraged for creating immersive scenarios like “what to do” or “how to do” kind of situations. With the help of videos, it makes it easy to simulate a real-life situation.

Effective Use Of YouTube

YouTube today has become synonymous with video. eLearning professionals can very well leverage this powerful platform to introduce the power of videos in their eLearning strategy – that too, without too much investment of time and money. Here are a few tips to make the best use of YouTube:

  • Create playlists around a specific topic and share it with the learners.
  • Use the privacy settings in YouTube to share specific videos with specific learners.
  • Use the power of annotations and links to provide additional information to the learners while they are watching the video.

General Guidelines For Video Production

Video production is a skill which needs to be developed. If you can afford it, hire a professional video production company. Alternatively, plan ahead of time to get the desired quality. Here’s a checklist to consider:

  1. Create a proper script.
  2. If your budget allows it, use professional voice over artists and professional actors.
  3. Consider using a studio during recording.
    This will help you reduce the ambient noise which can be difficult to remove during editing.
  4. Instead of relying on the camera’s microphone, have one which is close to the speaker’s mouth.
  5. Some of the tools which you can use:
    • For Pre-production: Adobe Story, Celtx.
    • For Post-production: Adobe Captivate, Splice, Cyberlink PowerDirector.

Take Care Of These Issues With Videos

If videos are not interactive, they can bore the learners and they can lose interest in the course material. It is, therefore, important to include interactivity inside the videos which make the learners focus, think, analyze, act, and interact with the video.

Another issue with videos could be with the bandwidth. If the videos are not compressed properly, there can be issues in playing those over a low bandwidth.

It is also important that the videos are created with high quality graphics and gripping script, audio narration, etc. Otherwise, those can distract the learners. And the creation of high quality video can be time consuming and costly.

If produced well and used strategically in the eLearning courses, videos can be great for learner engagement. Hope this article provides you some guidelines to get started.