To Video or Not To Video
I dug myself into an async content rabbit hole this week. Lot’s of writing and content development for some upcoming courses at NextLeap.
There is one format in particular that is a bit notorious in this space - videos.
The first wave of edtech was largely centred around content and more specifically videos. But over the past few years we have recognised that in edtech, content is no longer the king. But does that mean learning says goodbye to videos?
Um not really.
If videos were a problem Netflix, TikTok and YouTube wouldn’t be where they are today. So videos are not the problem. But what makes good videos for learning? Here are 4 things I discovered:
1/ Context is king
Unlike entertainment videos, for learning videos context is extremely important. Context could mean one/ more of the following:
The topic it is about
The user it is for
Where it fits in the learning journey
All types of videos don’t work everywhere! Relevance is key.
Imagine a cooking video but instead of showing how the chef is cooking, he is talking straight at the camera and explaining the recipe. Do you think it would work?
Ask yourself:
What do I know about the topic I am teaching? What adjectives would you use to describe it?
Who is my user? What do I know about them?
Where does this video fit in?
2/ Video is not just one thing
The other thing to remember is that video does not mean only one thing. In the learning context itself, you can have multiple types of videos:
Ask yourself:
What is the objective(s) of the video?
What format(s) is most suited to meet this objective?
3/ Variety. VARIETY. variety
Users are easily bored. With so much content out there it is important to be able to see things that seem difference.
Imagine this, if on Instagram and Youtube - all videos were the same format. A world of just animated videos or just people talking at the screen. Do you think you would spend the same time watching videos as you do now?
Variety can exist at 2 levels:
At the level of all the videos you have, is the format same for all?
At the level of an individual video itself, does the format remain consistent across the whole video? Are there multiple formats in the same video?
Ask yourself:
How can I keep my learner engaged in the videos?
How can one/ all the videos seem fresh and different even if they are on the same topic?
4/ Tell a story
Like all good learning experiences, good videos also have stories embedded in them. Think more than just a beginning, a middle and an end - look at what is the feelings journey map for your learner while watching the video.
Ask yourself:
What do I want my learner to feel at different points in this video?
What narrative can I create in this video?
What has your experience been while creating videos for learning? Have learnt something that’s not here?
Write to me! I’d love to learn from you :)