Designing a Canvas course requires careful consideration of how to make video content engaging, accessible, and sustainable over time. One highly effective strategy is content chunking, which not only enhances student learning but also streamlines the process of creating, editing, and reusing instructional materials.
What Is Content Chunking?
Content chunking involves dividing instructional material into shorter, more manageable segments that are easier for students to process and retain. This method has proven particularly effective in online and hybrid learning environments when it comes to video. Research shows that student engagement is highest when videos range between 6 and 15 minutes. In contrast, a 45‑minute video lecture can feel overwhelming and discourage active participation. While most lessons require more than six minutes to cover essential concepts, chunking allows instructors to distribute content across multiple concise videos. These can either be built sequentially or serve as stand‑alone, modular lessons focused on specific subtopics.
Benefits for Student Learning
Chunking video content not only reduces cognitive overload, a significant benefit for learners with ADHD and other learning disorders, but also makes the learning experience more flexible. Students are more willing to engage fully with shorter videos and can revisit difficult segments without sorting through lengthy lectures, allowing information to be absorbed more effectively. Students who use assistive technology, such as screen readers, can navigate video lessons more easily when each short video has a clear, specific title that reflects its content. Descriptive titles allow them to quickly find and select the exact segment they need without having to scrub through a long video or search an extensive transcript first.
Benefits for Instructors
Implementing content chunking is also practical for instructors. For example, when recording lectures with PowerPoint slides, natural breakpoints can be marked with color‑coded slides or placeholders to indicate where the material should be divided, making it easy to do this with existing presentations. Similarly, when recording in Zoom, pausing and restarting the recording produces separate videos for each section, eliminating the need for extensive editing. This approach reduces the risk of fatigue, ensures outdated content can be easily replaced, and helps instructors focus on essential information rather than unnecessary “filler.” You can learn more about chunking content specifically recorded in Zoom.
Chunking videos can also help you tailor your class around your student’s needs. If you’re noticing one or some of your shorter videos are being watched by students more than the others, you could deduce that it focuses on a part of the material your students are having a difficult time with. Consider creating supplemental short videos to reinforce understanding of that specific topic for future classes or revising how the concept is presented in the original video. Chunking instructional videos in this way provides valuable insight into students’ learning processes, highlighting both areas of instructional strength and opportunities for pedagogical refinement.
Getting Started Chunking Content
You can create and share instructional videos using a variety of recording and hosting platforms. If you’re not using Zoom to record like the above example, Kaltura and YouTube also allow you to record and publish content directly from your computer. We recommend identifying natural stopping points in advance to streamline the editing process. In addition, Media Specialists at ATSS offers studio recording services for instructional videos, where our team manages all aspects of production and editing—allowing you to focus solely on sharing your expertise.
By adopting content chunking, you can design course materials that are pedagogically effective, accessible to diverse learners, and efficient to maintain over time. You don’t have to rework all your content at once! Try chunking one longer video first and see how students respond. One step at a time, you can transform your courses to help you and your students get the most out of your class.