Tips for Creating Effective and Engaging Videos

Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)

Video content is an important component in online course design. Videos can be as simple as a lecture in front of a whiteboard or as sophisticated as an interactive “how-to” demonstration. In this article, I am going to discuss a few tips to make your videos more effective and engaging for your students.

First, you need to decide on the objective of your video. It is important to focus on one concept. If the unit you are teaching is complex, divide the content into multiple videos. Studies have shown that student engagement drops significantly after about ten minutes, so try to keep your videos between five and ten minutes long.

Before you start shooting your video, make a plan. It can be as simple as an outline or as sophisticated as a storyboard. Think about what kind of video you are making. If it is a simple lecture or PowerPoint presentation, an outline should be fine. If you are going to present a complex demonstration or similar type of lesson, a storyboard can be a big help. Even if you are not a great artist, simple sketches can help you visualize what you want to shoot.

Once you have developed your plan, write a script. Try to keep the language natural. Be yourself. Try not to sound like you are reading from a book. Make sure to rehearse your script as well. Rehearsal will help your speech flow naturally and help you eliminate “ums”, pauses, and mistakes that can distract from your lesson. Also, include instructions for yourself. If there is something you need to trigger in your PowerPoint, or you need to switch to a different application for part of a demonstration, include those instructions in your script.

When you are ready to start shooting, you need to think about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects, such as your “studio.” Your studio can be any space you have available, such as your office, a classroom, your living room at home, or even outside, but there are a few things you want to think about as you are setting it up. First, what is going to be behind you? Try not to shoot in front of a blank wall, but also try to avoid an area that is too busy, which can be a distraction. Also, if you are shooting at home, make sure that there is nothing in your shot that you don’t want to be seen on camera.

Next, you want to think about your lighting. Avoid overly bright lighting, particularly from behind you. Bright lighting can wash you out and make other things in the shot, like a whiteboard, hard to see. Bright backlighting will cause you to be a silhouette on camera. You also want to avoid a room that is too dark. If you need to add lighting, there are many affordable video lighting options available on Amazon and other online sites. Another good investment is an external microphone. While the microphones built into devices will work, an external microphone will provide greatly improved recording quality and help ensure that you can be heard clearly.

It is important to show yourself on camera, at least occasionally. Even if your video is a simple PowerPoint, show yourself on camera, even if it is just at the beginning and end of your video. Student engagement is improved when the instructor appears in the video. When you are on camera, be yourself. Relax. Your students want to see you, and it is OK not to be perfect. Resist the urge to go back and edit out all the mistakes. Correct yourself and move on. Students like to know you are not perfect. Also, if you have the space, move around. Don’t just stand in one place throughout the whole video.

Another way to keep students engaged in your video is to incorporate images, animation, and video. Even if the images are decorative, they can still help keep students interested. There are some great online tools that can help you create simple animated demonstrations. Even the incorporation of short video sequences can have a dramatic effect on your video. As you are creating your video try to keep in mind that students may be viewing your video on a wide range of devices, from a cell phone to a big-screen TV. Make sure your graphics and animation will look good by previewing your video on a variety of devices.

Maybe the most important tip for creating an effective video is to create opportunities for student interaction. There are a number of ways to do this. One suggestion is to use Echo360 to incorporate questions into your videos for students to answer. It will also allow them to submit questions they may have for you and allows them to pin the question to the specific point in the video where the question came to them. Another suggestion is to have them answer questions about the video in a Blackboard discussion board post for discussion with other students.

If you have any questions or would like some help creating videos for your courses, please contact OIT's Support Center. A member of the center's staff will create a help ticket and route it to your designated Instructional Designer.