Utilizing Video in Your Class to Enhance Engagement
Much to the chagrin of classic 80's MTV, video has become the standard for sharing information in the modern world. From YouTube to TikTok, the transmission of information through the medium of video has infiltrated all aspects of our lives. While some may be beneficial and allow us to seek out knowledge of things we do not know - YouTube, others can be detrimental to our mental health, but all of them have a common string - the use of video. And as instructors, we should utilize video to pass along information in a curated manner.
Utilizing video in a classroom greatly enhances engagement and allows for providing real world examples. We can find videos almost anywhere on the Internet and YouTube has become a invaluable resource in many classrooms. There are many ways to create your own video library including linking to outside resources, capturing your own screen, recording video with your smartphone, and/or using high end equipment to achieve the highest quality available. However, creating the video is the easy part, making it engaging and interesting requires some work. The roadblock comes when we want to develop our own material and do it with a high quality feel.
Planning out how to present your material in video format is much more intensive compared to a podcast or audio recording. There are several steps to creating a high quality video presentation which include: outlining your content, matching your video to your audience, creating interaction, removing redundancy and repetition, and using the right equipment for the job (Pappas, 2015). Keeping your videos to the point is a key component of an engaging session. When videos go too long, we tend to get bored and move on to the next thing. Clear and concise audio also helps keep your audience captivated. Once you have your video recorded, then question becomes how to edit it into a watchable file.
Editing videos can be a daunting task for many people, myself included, due to all of the options out there. From the included Video Editor in Windows that allows basic edits to the full fledged Adobe Premiere or Apple's Final Cut. The latter two are robust industry leading video editing tools that take a tremendous amount time to learn the basics. There are tremendous amount of resources on the web for users to access to learn the basics. Editing your files into a pleasing watchable video takes time and patience, and a lot of practice.
Once your project is ready to be shared, you must choose what platform will work best. YouTube has become the standard for video sharing sites, but there are plenty of options for all use cases such as Vimeo, Daily Motion, Metacafe, and IGTV (Indeed, 2022). The ability to create an engaging video, edit it, and share to almost anyone has become almost a requirement in modern academia. As instructors we need to take advantage of the resources and tools that allow us to connect to our students in a manner that they are currently using on a daily basis.
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Works Referenced:
Indeed. (2022, June 24). 10 video sharing sites and their benefits | indeed.com. Indeed.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/video-sharing-sites
Pappas, C. (2021, May 12). Producing high quality Elearning Videos: The ultimate guide. eLearning Industry. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://elearningindustry.com/producing-high-quality-elearning-videos-ultimate-guide
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