Making Instructional Videos

Making Instructional Videos

The Purpose

Instructional videos are a very effective tool to help create instructor presence in an online classroom. Because the online classroom lacks physicality, lacks the opportunity for direct observation, and lacks the opportunity for the natural interaction we are more used to, we must be very intentional about creating instructor presence – a sense that the instructor is real, is interested in the students’ success, and that they are engaged as a facilitator actively guiding students through the learning activities and content in a course – in so doing, an instructor can increase the students’ engagement, reduce commonly reported perceptions of isolation, increase students’ use of critical thinking, their motivation to work, and eventually even their persistence. All of this combined, increases satisfaction in the online experience for students AND instructors.

With such impactful outcomes, consider using video for:

Additional Resources

  • Introductions
  • Lecture content
  • Advance organizers
  • Unit wrap-ups
  • Feedback
  • Background setting
  • Modeling (e.g. ankle wrap technique, reading in iambic pentameter, pronunciation in French, resolving formulas, projection techniques in singing and speaking, etc., etc., etc.)

The Process

Kareem Farah and Robert Barnett at Edutopia, share a great article about the 5 important steps to making effective videos – Summarized here:

  1. Chunk your instruction. Each video should only address a single learning objective, topic, or task.
  2. Build video-ready slides. A slide deck to support instructional video is not the same as a lecture deck. It should be clear, simple, and visually compelling.
    • Tools
      • PowerPoint,
      • Google Slides,
      • Images.
  3. Record – Consider if you need to annotate or highlight the screen, focus on you speaking or demonstrating, split the screen between content and your face, will you need to edit/produce the video, and also your comfort and familiarity with the tools. A story board or rough script is recommended.
  4. Enhance Engagement. – Passively watching video can lead students to lose focus. Think about requiring notes, embedding questions, or providing follow-up activities that help the watch “actively”.
  5. Be Yourself!! Authenticity definitely builds better instructor-to-student relationships when compared to slick, high-production. Speak in a natural, conversational manner – keep the engaged with an enthusiastic tone!

The Tools

There are many tools at Truman available to do this. Click the tool title below to see more information. Click it again to close that topic.

Zoom is a versatile tool that is primarily thought of as a videoconferencing tool. However, Zoom’s feature set also includes the ability to share your screen and record – making it a great tool for recording live instruction or a “meeting of one” in which you can create instructional content. For the full feature set, you’ll need a Truman “Pro” account. Send a request to ltt@truman.edu. See additional information at Truman’s Zoom Support Page
Screencastify is a free tool that is installed as a browser extension (Chrome only) that allows you to record “screencasts”, or recordings of your computer screen while you use it. Optionally, you can also incorporate yourself as a “talking head” in the screencast if you also have a webcam. Recorded videos can be saved to your Google Drive and shared via Blackboard, email, and more.

“Adobe Express is the Integrated web and mobile solution that enables everyone, especially teachers and their students, to easily create and share impactful visual stories.” -from the Spark EDU implementation guide

This powerful and FREE tool can be used to create videos (voice over images or slides), graphics, or boldly visual webpages. For videos – you can import images, video clips; add text, graphics, and record voice overs per slide. Express is aimed at educators and students and can be used to easily create impactful digital storytelling elements.

Located in PML204, the one-button studio is a recording studio in which you can record video that is properly lighted and recorded in a web-friendly MP4 format to a flash-drive you provide by hitting ONE BUTTON!

Green Screen technology is available (post-processing required).

See One Button Studio (OBS) details here.
The Lightboard (also known as Learning Glass) Studio is located in PML204. The studio facilitates the recording of presentations that include detailed diagrams and formulas – while also looking at the audience – by utilizing an illuminated, glass, writing surface.

Learn more about the technology and see details here.
PowerPoint can be used as a video production tool. Rather than just sharing a PPT slide deck, use that deck as the basis for a web-friendly video.

Record narrations, add graphics, include compelling information – and then export the whole package as video. See complete instructions here. This resource has different links for different versions of PowerPoint – be sure to choose the one that you have.
Video is such an ever-present medium these days that the list of tools to create instructional videos could be almost endless. As you think about what might work best for you, consider how techy you want to get AND how much time you have to produce results.

In addition to the dedicated tools listed above, don’t forget about your own smart phone – which likely has a video camera built-in, the DSLR that you use on vacation – it also likely has great video tools on-board, and even tablets and laptops can be used as native recording devices.

For quick, raw videos – these tools can provide content you can upload to YouTube and share from there to Blackboard. Or, for more sophisticated options – combine recorded video with one of the tools listed above. Alternatively – you can trim, edit, and transform recorded video using a dedicated timeline editor such as iMovie, Corel Video Studio, Windows 10 Photos, or powerful, open source tools such as ShotCut. These tools are for the dedicated, brave souls with a little more time on their hands.