Accessibility, which is one of the conveniences introduced by technology to human life, makes us need technology in every field. The rich internet content, which has expanded with the development of web technology, has now become instructive rather than entertaining. The question of ‘how to make educational videos?’ has also been asked more frequently.
Currently, it is much simpler to reach the answer of what we wonder about and new information. The rapidly developing internet technology becomes also important in education, and such an education can be both cheaper and more beneficial. For this, providing online training through videos turns into an advantageous method for both the educator and the learner.
- So, what should be considered in order to increase efficiency while training with a video?
- In the virtual environment, how can we achieve the advantage of efficiency in education?
- How to make educational videos?
We offer solutions in our article to those who seek the answers to these questions.
Types of video lessons
It is very easy to create video content on different technical infrastructures thanks to digital content development tools. While this variety and convenience offer educators considerable flexibility, making a choice can be difficult for those without basic knowledge of these technologies. Therefore, while we answer the question of ‘how to make educational videos?’, first of all, we need to talk about the techniques you can use for your training video.
After choosing your content topic, you should choose the format of the lesson video you want to shoot. For this, we have three options that are widely used and easily produced:
Video Capture with Screenshot (Screencast)
What you need to do is to record your project, either from your own computer or with the help of programs created for this process, after preparing your presentations and slides. You can add sound over the screenshot and make your video more descriptive by adding information to the image.
Video Capture with a Narrator
The diction and tone of the narrator are vital when making educational videos with a narrator. The more fluent and clear the narrator speaks, the better the student can focus on the lesson. At the same time, having the text to be told present in front of the narrator makes the job easier. It is worth paying special attention to this issue in narrator videos if the narrator is an instructor with no previous experience.
Video Made with Animations
You can create your own animations by using various programs to enrich your visual content or to explain the subject in different ways. You can specify a character in your animation videos or just use graphics and typography. By combining many visual and audio elements, you can easily create your video and add voiceover to your video.
3 things to consider when making educational videos
Another answer we will give to the question; ‘How to make educational videos?’, is about the path you will follow after you decide to shoot a lesson video.
Start by determining the content of the lesson
There are 2 stages to preparing a training video: theoretical and technical. Theoretically, deciding the content of the lesson and then determining the most suitable format for the content makes it easier for you to make a good video. First, start by looking for answers to these questions:
- What lesson will I teach?
- What will be the name of the course?
- Who will be the target audience?
- What will be the learning objective and what will be the student’s outputs at the end of this course?
If your answers to these questions are clear, you are ready to make a video. Now, it is time to prepare a lesson plan; prepare a plan for your topics, content, video duration, and how many lessons you need.
Thus, you will pre-determine the information you will convey throughout the training and you will be able to easily select the audio-visual material you need. At this stage, you can determine the format of your video and the tools you will use.
Use visual elements correctly
When you get to the technical stage, you need to make sure that the video is of high quality, descriptive and eye-catching. What you need to pay attention to is clarity if you are shooting yourself or sharing your screen recording and if you will go for animation, consider the order and the harmony of your design.
You can capture this clarity with high-resolution cameras or by fixing your ambient light. Your ambient light should be adjusted to be bright and not create a shadow on you. You can learn to use the angle of light known as ‘front light’. For this, the “ring light”, which has been used a lot by video makers such as YouTubers recently, will make your job easier.
At the same time, when shooting your video, make sure that your background is plain and matching. Confusion distracts students who are listening to the lesson.
On the other hand, you can use visual materials such as photos, videos, icons, and graphics to enrich all your videos by using different elements. Thus, you help students receive information both visually and audibly. Moreover, you can prevent distractions.
Add quality and engaging audio elements
One of the things you need to pay attention to while shooting a video is the sound. Your voice should be clear and comprehensible in the video. A clear and clean recording will both professionalize your work and be more understandable for the student listening to the lesson.
Using a microphone while making the video makes your job easier for later. A lapel microphone will pick up your voice much closer, minimizing ambient noise. You should also make sure that the environment in which you record is quiet enough. You can cover your wall with a sponge pan to minimize the ambient noise or you can create the same effect with egg cups if you wish.
In addition to the narrator’s voice, you can add auditory elements to your video tutorials that will strengthen your content and narration. This helps your students by facilitating attention and long-term recall.
Tools you can use while shooting training videos
You can create your videos easily and make them more interesting using many elements within the tools. Just drag and drop. You can edit the instructional videos you have taken with the help of programs prepared for e-education, and even share or sell them on some platforms. Thus, these tools not only help you with video creation and video editing but also help you reach more people.
Powtoon
With Powtoon, you can create professional and fully customized videos for students. You can add animations to the content you prepare, create characters, and make your video fun by putting speech bubbles on these characters.
iSpring
You can turn your PowerPoint presentations into lesson content using iSpring Content and Exam Preparation Tools. You can also prepare and publish e-books, questions, tests, and quizzes with iSpring Suite, which you can use for online exams.
Camtasia
You can take screen recording and edit your videos with Camtasia, the world-renowned practical and easy-to-use video presentation preparation and editing software. Camtasia, one of the most widely used tools for screen recording video, allows you to add effects to your videos and create custom templates for your favourite videos. Thus, you can shorten the editing time thanks to these templates you have created before.
Articulate
Articulate, an e-learning platform supported by LMS (Learning Management Systems) that provides interactive and more engaging learning, is a tool you can use while shooting videos to teach online. You can create and publish videos using its rich image library.
Thanks to these tools, you can easily prepare the content that you will share on a YouTube channel or on different platforms. You can start teaching online right away by considering the three steps you need to pay attention to while making a tutoring video.
