If you're considering creating video content for your course, whether you plan to produce the videos yourself or enlist the services of media professionals, here are questions (and answers) to think about before you get started.
There’s a distinction between formal, produced videos, and informal, just-in-time videos. Informal, just-in-time content is ideal for announcements, course updates, and lecture recaps. These videos are an effective way to engage your students, require little preparation, and are easily accomplished using your computer’s webcam. The focus of this post is formal video content produced
- by you alone,
- in collaboration with your local support professionals,
- using ATSS Academic Video Production (a no-fee service for academic course projects).
Which course content is best for formal, produced video?
If you are about to spend a lot of time and effort producing a video, it is recommended to:- Focus on content you have taught before and are familiar with. Melissa Olson, Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) Video Producer cautions against investing a lot time creating videos for new course content. When the material is new to you, and your approach to the content is still fluid, time spent creating a formal video may be wasted effort.
- Choose ‘evergreen’ content. This is material you create once and use over and over. Investing extra time and effort creating videos that remain relevant will save you time in the long run. Omit specifics that ‘date’ the content, like “spring semester.”
How do I prepare?
Andrew Matthews, ATSS Senior Video Producer, recommends creating an inventory of the content you wish to create:- Identify the unit, the lesson, and how many sub-lessons you wish to record.
- Chunk your content into 5 to 10-minute segments. A 55-minute lecture may naturally break into 4 smaller sub-topics. If you use a slide deck, insert a slide to delineate each sub-topic.
- Use that slide deck to create 4 separate videos. Introduce and contextualize each segment to provide continuity and reinforce learning.
- Use descriptive titles that identify the video — avoid "video 1" "video 2" — so your students can search for your content.
How do I ensure my videos are accessible?
- Make sure your content is captioned. YouTube and Kaltura automatically generate captions but auto-captions do not meet accessibility requirements. Review and correct them yourself. If you
- use Kaltura: Find and Edit Captions
- use YouTube, learn How to Edit YouTube Auto Caption
- work with Academic Video Production, your content will be professionally captioned.
- Make sure low-vision learners don’t miss anything. Refrain from using color, or graphics, or visual content as the sole way of communicating your point. Describe graphs or images used in your slide deck.
How much time will it take?
It depends! Determine when you need to have the video ready for your students and work backward from there to calculate your timeline. Some items to consider:- Is your slide deck ready to go, or do you need to make revisions?
- Are you doing this work yourself? Or are you enlisting support from others? If working with others, consider their production capacity and timelines.
- Factor in extra time for editing and review.
Looking for support?
If you have questions about the video production process, contact ATSS Academic Video Production for a consultation.