Visual content in training
An educational video is an effective means of developing soft and hard skills, training, retraining and advanced training. This format helps to keep attention, stimulates curiosity, and promotes involvement in the educational process. Video makes it easier to perceive complex information, simplifies the presentation of complex material, and is a way to demonstrate phenomena of the surrounding world that cannot be demonstrated in real conditions.
Video is an effective didactic tool. Modern information technologies make it possible to significantly expand the range of video formats: educational animation, studio filming, screencasts, etc. Some formats are easy to perform, others on the contrary require financial costs, a large development team and time resources. Is the quality of the created training video always proportional to the resources spent? First of all, you should focus on the educational goal, the development period, and the budget.
The following types (formats) of training videos can be distinguished:
• Video lectures. This type includes pre-prepared training sessions filmed in the studio. Media files or presentations are used as the background.
• Interactive video – a video in which the user performs active actions, i.e. he can choose an answer option that will affect the further development of the plot (according to a branching scenario).
• Animated video is educational animation, often created with the help of special tools by a team of professionals. Video scribing can also be attributed to this category, when the explanation is accompanied by drawing a picture. One of the varieties is video infographics, which allows you to quickly and simply explain complex material.
• Video demonstrations allow you to show the processes taking place in nature, in the laboratory, in a model created on a computer. Screencasts are video recordings of what is happening on the screen of a computing device (computer, tablet, phone), accompanied by voice comments, notes on the screen, etc.
• Slide shows, presentations, and video tours can be classified as "Free video".
The choice of the training video format should be determined depending on the goals and based on the maximum educational effect. And a creative solution can compensate for a small budget and the lack of complex technological solutions. In order for the educational videos being developed to be in demand, you need to be aware of current trends in the field of media.
Another important area is visualization, which provides the necessary tools in a short time. In the context of the pandemic, the trends of using the video format for self-education have intensified, and more and more people, turning to video, want to learn something.
The development of social networks, TikTok are leaving their mark. Users are used to a short video format that can be viewed on the phone in between tasks. Is there an optimal length of the training video? According to research, 25% of respondents named the optimal length of 3-4 minutes, the same percentage of respondents – 5-6 minutes, 14% – 10-20 minutes.
One of the modern trends in creating educational videos is the ability of the viewer to influence what he sees. For example, through communication through comments and likes. Interactive videos are particularly popular.
More and more information is being viewed on phones, which gives rise to the vertical video format. Very often, users minimize applications and continue to listen to educational videos that broaden their horizons.
The use of training videos allows you to cope with such a task as explaining new concepts, processes and phenomena. This is facilitated by visibility, various channels of information transmission (images, audio and text), dynamics in the narrative and emotional accents. The explanation of the material is the "embedding of new knowledge" into the viewer's picture of the world. Creating a training video should begin with researching the audience and determining the edge of "knowledge – ignorance". This will allow us to maintain the relationship between the explanation of new information and its application.
The assimilation of new material is impossible without a person's own efforts, for which motivation is necessary. The most effective way to awaken inner motivation is to explain the meaning of new knowledge and the possibilities of its application in practice.
Using an educational video is a way to involve feelings in the educational process, to interest and encourage the child to start asking questions himself. The main rule is that the material must be adapted to the level of complexity that the audience owns and to the experience that they have.
The video format is demanding of technical and methodological resources. To obtain long-term benefits, it is necessary to pay great attention to the training video at the preparation stage. This will reduce the number of subsequent fixes and alterations, save time and resources. User–oriented design is one of the effective methodologies of pedagogical design, focused on the development of an educational product based on needs, desires and limitations.
The principles of multimedia learning help to correctly combine graphic elements with text, taking into account the psychological characteristics of information perception. By combining these principles with the theory of cognitive load, one can be sure of caring for the intellectual resources of the audience, maintaining the activity of their attention and interest in the topic.
An engaging instructional video is a powerful tool that can be both effective and harmful when used unknowingly. Before choosing the methods of engagement and interactivity, it is necessary to answer the question: what is the purpose of your video? what learning outcomes does the viewer expect? will each specific engaging element serve the chosen purpose, or distract from it?
During the pandemic, the need for high-speed acquisition and updating of educational content has increased. At the same time, there are more and more sources of educational content every day, which stimulates the search for new ways to keep users' attention. One of the key factors in choosing a particular media source remains the quality of the training solution. It is possible to identify typical problems encountered in the development of training videos:
• Due to lack of time, experts often ask to use existing developments and presentations, forgetting that the level of their involvement affects the final result.
• lack of a standard in the interaction process: what to do, how to coordinate, how to make edits, who to contact.
• a long period of time from the moment the idea was created to the publication of the product.
• changing demands in the course of work, the lack of a unified team and other factors lengthen the production process, while trends require a constant reduction in the time to create a training video.
• the lack of a common style is an important point that determines the impression that the video makes on the viewer. The overall style has a positive effect on how the video and the educational program as a whole are perceived.