Educational videos are effective tools for breaking down complex topics to help people learn new skills. In particular, teachers can use educational videos as part of their instructional materials.
Instead of using teaching time for long-winded lectures that are easily forgotten, you can create educational videos that are fun and memorable. Students are more likely to understand complicated concepts when a teacher explains them through videos or other media.
Types of Educational Videos to Consider
Video Animation for Complex Topics
Animated videos use cartoons or other visuals to convey new concepts to students. For instance, a first-grader learning the basics of addition and subtraction might develop a stronger understanding with an animated short of a farmer picking apples from a tree. The video might show the farmer dropping several apples together into a barrel (demonstrating addition skills), then selling them to customers at the market (a display of subtraction skills).
Animated videos are also helpful for language learners. Someone who is learning English for the first time, for instance, might benefit from seeing animated objects, like the sun or a pair of shoes, followed by the word associated with the image and pronunciation.
Video animation enhances the fun of learning, and it can lead to greater memory retention than what may be gained from generic lectures or reading from a book. It’s especially beneficial for concepts that build upon one another, like math, science, and language.
Instructional Videos for Longer Lectures
There’s a large market for remote learning, whether a student is pursuing a higher-level education, learning a new language, or simply trying to pick up a new skill. Instructional videos are a big help for professors and other instructors, as they can bundle them up into a series of classes to either sell on platforms like EdX, Udemy, and Coursera or include as part of the curriculum of an established college or university.
Unlike traditional classroom teaching methods, which most often involve long-winded lectures and whiteboards to convey essential information, instructional videos can make the learning experience more meaningful and engaging by including animated content or links to additional resources. Teachers can even edit their videos to remove redundant material that won’t add any value to their lessons.
Tutorials for Short, Skills-Based Learning
Platforms like YouTube are full of educational videos that can help consumers acquire new skills that interest them, be they crocheting scarves or making a beef bourguignon from scratch. Video tutorials are helpful for people who don’t have physical access to teachers that can help them learn complex skills immediately, and they allow students to learn new skills at their own pace and convenience.
Professionally created tutorial videos often get the most views since they’re heavily edited to be easy to follow and provide maximum value. When you work with an educational video service, you’ll improve the quality of your tutorial videos and go on to benefit anyone who wants to learn the skills you teach.
Tips for Optimizing Your Educational Video
You’ll want to treat your educational video just like any other form of content, ensuring that it’s both engaging and enjoyable. Ideally, your video won’t be a single lecture recording but instead broken down to include animations, examples, illustrations, and other items that make it captivating.
Providing an option for subtitles can also increase the value of an educational video, especially when you offer it to people whose first language isn’t English or who may be hard of hearing. Subtitles help viewers follow along, ensuring they don’t miss crucial concepts that are essential to their learning.
The length of your video is also important, though it will vary depending on how you plan to use the video. An animated video that explains a complicated topic in a classroom setting may run for two minutes or less, but an extended instructional video can last up to an hour or longer. If you aim to provide the video to a remote audience, you could offer several options for viewing the lecture, such as a full version of the video alongside bite-sized chunks of the same content that get directly to the point.
Educational Videos Are a Powerful Way to Improve Learning
An educational video can benefit students tremendously by helping them understand challenging concepts and improving their information retention. You can use educational videos to strengthen your curriculum if you’re a teacher or other learning provider. Decide which type of video suits your students best, and add it to your teaching techniques.
