Educational Video

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Educational Video

Instructor-produced educational videos are an important component of online courses that enhance learning and student success when they are made well. It is important to know which types of video to use in an online course, and how to create effective educational videos.

Be sure to visit our page on Creating Effective Educational Video.

Types of Educational Videos

Narrated Powerpoint Lecture

A narrated Powerpoint lecture consists of your voice lecturing over a Powerpoint presentation. This method is very effective and has the advantage of leveraging your existing Powerpoint presentations. Narrated Powerpoint lecture videos provide a good balance between audio and video cognitive channels to enhance learning.

It is highly recommended that you use a headset microphone for best quality. Contact our office to obtain a quality headset.

Click here to view an example in a new window

When to use:

This is usually the best type of video for presenting online lectures. The Powerpoint presentation should be rich in relevant visual materials. Text should only be used when necessary, and to signal key ideas or provide labels.

Click here to learn more about creating Narrated Powerpoint Lectures.

Screen Recording Lecture

A narrated screen recording lecture consists of your voice lecturing over a video recording of you performing tasks on your computer screen or on a drawing tablet. Our office can assist you with the use of a Wacom drawing tablet.

It is highly recommended that you use a headset microphone for best quality. Contact our office to obtain a quality headset.

When to use:

This is usually the best type of video for lectures that require you to interact with software. For example: working through math problems on a drawing tablet; using statistical analysis software; navigating a website.

Click here to learn more about creating Screen Recording Lectures.

On-Camera Video

In this type of video, you appear on-camera, whether as a “talking head” or as part of a group, in your office or a suitable location on campus. This type of video can be made using a webcam or, for higher quality, our office can bring a video camera and microphone. If using a webcam, it is highly recommended that you contact our office to obtain a desktop microphone for best results.

When students can see and hear their instructor, it makes the course feel more personal and engaging for everyone.

When to use:

When students can see and hear their instructor, it makes the course feel more personal and engaging for everyone.

This type of video is best for three purposes:

Course introductory “welcome” videos and unit/lesson overview videos
Interview-style videos with two or more people
Short videos for course announcements

This type of video is not ideal for delivering lectures because all information is delivered through the auditory cognitive channel, and the visual channel is neglected for conveying lecture information. Course lectures should be delivered through methods that leverage both auditory and visual channels (e.g. narrated Powerpoints or screen recordings.)

Studio Video Lecture

You appear on-camera in a small, comfortable studio environment. Video and audio are recorded to the highest level of quality. The lecture is supplemented visually with additional media assets provided such as Powerpoint slides, photos from your research, data tables, etc.

When to use:

This type of video requires the highest level of preparation on the part of the instructor. The lecture should be planned out in advance, including the use of supplementary visual assets. A script must be prepared and used during recording, and additional media assets will be collected to ensure balanced cognitive load. Due to the amount of post-production editing, this type of video takes substantially longer to produce.

Captions

Please contact our office for information on having your videos captioned.