Video, and all multimedia, can sometimes feel like a very nebulous solution to your content problems. It has the potential to explain something with more detail, it can reach learners who need to have instructions repeated, and it can be an accessible tool to allow learners of all kinds to interact with the material. In the best case scenario, well-crafted video can provide students additional supports that can lean into their learning preferences. But it can also be overwhelming. And time consuming. And it can sometimes feel like it creates more of a problem than you had when you started. Welcome to the world of multimedia.
I’ve found that there are a few easy checkpoints to walk yourself through to determine if video is really the right solution to your problem.
- Could this video be an email? We’ve all sat through meetings and turned to someone and said “this could have been an email”. Ask yourself the same question when you’re starting to outline your video. Are you putting yourself through the paces for something that could be reduced to three salient bullet points? If so, who is the video for? What will the video achieve? Would you want to watch this video instead of reading the three bullet points?
- Am I doing this for me, or for the viewer? Building off of checkpoint one, asking yourself who the video is really for will help you determine if it’s worth making. If you know all students struggle with a specific concept every semester, then a video is a great solution. Break the concept down, mention where people have become lost so students know they’re not alone in their confusion, and then you’ve created a learning resource they can come back to repeatedly (and that you can use next semester, too). This is a nice way of being there for students when you can’t be there physically. This kind of video can also be very forgiving. If the content is really good, students won’t blame you if you are stuttering a bit or if your dog barks a few times in the background. That being said, if you make the video to solve a problem you are having, you are likely not creating a video that will be used in the way you hope. For example, If you’ve found that students have a hard time following instructions and you’re sick of repeating yourself over and over again so you decide to make a video where you just read the instructions to them, you won’t solve any problems by making a video. You’ll probably just make yourself more frustrated. The solution for this specific issue lies in looking at the instructions themselves, and seeing where students are getting tripped up, not necessarily repeating them in another medium.
- Am I even ready to make a video? Once you’ve determined if a video is truly the solution to your problem, take a good look at your surroundings and tech and decide if making a video in that space is going to solve anything. Are you sitting in front of a window with no curtains? (You will look like you’re creating a video from a bright white heavenly landscape). Do you have control of the air conditioner? Is your office on the other side of a wood shop? These seem like silly questions, but if you don’t have the physical space to create something attractive (and this is subjective, of course, but think of all the times you’ve watched YouTube videos and thought, did that person even watch this before they uploaded it?) are you willing to upload something that represents you and your expertise, as well as your whole department?
Videos are awesome tools, but they don’t always get consumed in traditional ways. Here are a few ways students might ingest your content:
- Watching your class videos on their phone. If you upload a 4K or 8K video for them to watch, is that video worth them maxing out their data plan if they’re not on wifi?
- Watching your videos with captions and no sound. On the bus, at work, or even in another class, perhaps.
- Only listening to the audio of your videos. And with that in mind, have you thought about the audio of your video, and not just the quality, but are you explaining what students might be seeing on the screen?
- Only listening to the audio while they are watching videos on another app. Is the audio enough for you to get your point across in this specific case?
- At two or even three times the speed at which you originally recorded it. Students are used to replaying audio at faster rates.
With all that to consider, it’s important to think about why you’re making a video before you sit down and make it. As a multimedia specialist, I love making videos, but they have a time and a place and a specific function. Making sure your intentions are clear from the start, and running through the checkpoints listed above, will help you start making videos that actively support your classroom experience and set your students (and you) up for success.
If you’re interested in creating videos, or feel like you want to try after reading this, please reach out to Danielle, our Part-time Multimedia Specialist, and she’ll help you get started!
