Masterclass: Making educational videos

Jessica Frawley: [email protected]

Danny Liu: [email protected]
This handout accompanies the Masterclass in Making videos and flipping your classes. It covers some basic
principles and guidelines for creating video content efficiently and effectively for your subject.

TL;DR
Some quick research-informed tips [2; 7] on effective educational videos:
 Not all content is suitable for video – consider the purpose of your videos
 Shorter videos are more engaging – and easier to re-make if necessary
 Low-fidelity videos engender a more engaging, personal feel
 Intersperse slides with your face at opportune times
 Be yourself – speak with enthusiasm
 Recording and then splicing full lectures is not engaging
 Prepare and plan what you will say and show in the video

VISUALS
Videos do not require high production
costs to be effective
The desire to make polished ‘movie quality’
videos can be timely, complex and expensive.
Investing huge amounts of time in the pursuit of
perfection may not always lead to learning or
translate into student engagement. Fortunately,
some of the best educational videos, such as
those by the Khan Academy, have been created
using simple technologies and limited time and
financial resources.
Research suggests that high production value
may not matter [2]. As far as engagement goes,
informal settings such as that of an individual’s
office or home may be more effective than a Figure 1: Screenshot of screencast lesson produced using a webcam,
professional studio [2] (Figure 1). Wacom digitizer tablet, screen annotation software, Excel, desktop
microphone, and a laptop, recorded in an office.
Fidelity as a continuum – how ‘real’ does
something have to look for learning to occur?
For educational videos there is often the assumption that “more realism corresponds to greater
comprehension” [6]. However, there “are times when the ideal expression of a message can be achieved
through visual shorthand”, this can be done by reducing “the qualities embedded in the graphic” [5] (Table
1).

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Depending on the learning outcomes you may want to blend or combine a range of low and high fidelity
visual content (Figure 2) for example by annotating a high fidelity photo or video with overlaid writing or
drawing. Alternatively, having your face included in the video (e.g. as a talking head) may help make the
video more personable.
Human heat pattern Heart musculature Heart valves Heart dissection

Source: Pattern Universe, 2015 Source: Anatomy & Physiology Connexions, Source: Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions, 2013 Source: Kenshinb, 2013, Flikr
2013

Low fidelity High fidelity

Figure 2: Fidelity as a continuum in visual images.

Table 1: The affordances of lower and higher fidelity graphics.

Lower fidelity Higher fidelity

 Quick visual scanning  Authentic ‘real world’ examples

Affordances

 Less information and load on  Contextualises information

working memory  Increases visual processing and complexity
 Fewer visual distractions or ‘noise’  Easily capture other features of what is
 Less superfluous visual information represented (e.g. sound, rapid behaviour etc)
Introduction to the atom: How a hard drive works:
Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xSQlwWGT8M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfmTaOJMoUk

Including yourself
Including yourself in the video as a ‘talking head’ allows you to make eye contact with the camera and
personally connect with your students. A video is like a one-on-one conversation with the student and helps
to maximise engagement [8].
 If it helps, you might like to stick a photograph of a person above the camera to help you make an
emotional connection [7].
 Don’t be afraid to include aspects of your teaching that, though imperfect, show humanity. For
example, if you make a mistake don’t stop recording but explain how you would work through it.
 Although some people script their videos, talking conversationally to the camera may be more
natural and engaging. If you need to structure this ‘conversation’, then perhaps storyboard your
video (described in a later section).
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Creating content for different screens
Your cohort will own a variety of devices with different screen sizes. You therefore need to consider how to
produce content that is visible and legible; what looks great on a huge Mac desktop monitor may not
translate to a smartphone. A few guiding principles to follow:
 Colour and contrast: High contrast between colours works well (e.g. black and white) instead of low
contrast (e.g. yellow and white). Watch out for colours that are more susceptible to being
misrepresented by the computer (e.g. neons, pastels). Also by opting for colours that have a high
contrast you make your videos more accessible for students who may have vision difficulties. If you
are filming a video of yourself, make sure the light is neither too bright or too dark.
 Size and visibility: Make sure what you are presenting is large enough to be read on a range of
screens. If you are using an annotation approach (e.g. drawing) make sure the ‘pen’ is thick enough
to be clear. If you are using PowerPoint, then pick a font that is large enough and clear enough to be
read.
 Legibility: If you are using annotation software or recording your handwriting using a camera, then
write as clearly as you can. However, don’t worry about not having perfect cursive or calligraphy as
your spoken words will clarify anything that is a bit scrawly.

AUDIO
AUDIO QUALITY IS IMPORTANT
Audio quality is really important. We cannot emphasise this enough. Low fidelity graphics can simplify a
concept, a webcam image of you talking to your class from your living room can be personable, but students
will tune out if they cannot hear you or if there is too much auditory noise or interference. Cleaning audio
files is difficult; it is easier to record once and get it right. To do this always:
 Use a dedicated desktop microphone1
 Record the video in a quiet place
 Practice using the microphone and enunciate clearly

CONTENT
Choosing content to be transformed into video
Videos take time to create and are not easily edited so
you need to consider what content in your course
would work as a video and what would be better
taught face-to-face. Content that may lend themselves
well to video are:
 Core concepts that are unlikely to change (e.g.
a particular equation, foundational concepts;
e.g. Figure 3)
 Content that students find difficult and may
need to revise (videos allow students to replay
Figure 3: Foundational chemistry concept explained using a
content as many times as they need) PowerPoint and voiceover.
 Content that is tedious and difficult to cover in
a lecture (this has the added benefit of giving
you more time in lectures for active learning approaches where students engage with an activity
instead of just listening)

1
These typically connect to a computer via USB. We recommend the Blue Microphones Yeti, or the Samson GoMic. The
Educational Innovation team has a few of these you can borrow.

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Other uses for video
There are many other good uses for educational video beyond delivering or explaining content [3; 8]. Here
are some examples:
 Interview with an expert
 Reviewing exemplar assessments – e.g. a screencast where
you talk about an exemplar assignment and use screen
annotation software to focus on particular aspects
 On location – contextualises what students are learning to
real situations e.g. tour of a lab or facility
 Demonstrations of experiments Figure 4: Simple video showing usage of lab
 Demonstrating how to use equipment – useful for getting equipment, captured on a mobile device.
students up to speed before labs (e.g. Figure 4)
 Recording a live event – e.g. video of a group discussion which can then be critiqued by students

Sustainability and re-use

Because videos can take a bit of time to create, it is worthwhile considering how to make them sustainable
so you can re-use them through multiple semesters. Part of this will come from making videos of content
that is unlikely to change, although you may want to update how you explain it. Part of this comes from the
actual presentation of the video. Consider:
 Not including dates, unit codes/names, and other identifying information in the video
 Not referring to resources or people/groups that are likely to change (e.g. “the week 2 folder on
Blackboard”)
 Using generic examples – e.g. when showing an exemplar assessment or solution, use samples that
are not direct reflections of existing tasks

STRUCTURE AND STYLE

Video length
Research conducted on student engagement with videos suggests that shorter videos are more engaging,
with 6 minutes being the optimal time [1; 2; 4] (Figure 5). That said, we have seen students fully engage with
45-minute screencasts which were tutorials on using Excel to analyse and present data, but this was based
on skills acquisition not content or conceptual understanding, which would typically benefit from shorter
snippets.

Figure 5: Optimal length of videos on the edX MOOC platform [1].

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Production styles
There are several production styles [3] (Table 2). You can use more than one within one video. For example,
you can run Khan style annotations over code or PowerPoint slides and can incorporate a ‘talking head’ of
you at your office desk to personalise the lesson. For a more detailed description of some of the software
tools, refer to the section later on in this document.
Table 2: Production styles and suggested tools.

Style Description Some suggested tools

Slides PowerPoint slide presentation  Computer
with voiceover  PowerPoint or other slideshow software (e.g.
Prezi)
 Desktop microphone
 Screencasting software
Khan style Full-screen video of an Desktop approach
instructor drawing freehand on
 Computer
a digital surface, which is a style
 Wacom digitizer tablet & stylus
popularized by Khan Academy
 Screencasting software
videos
 Screen annotation software
 Desktop microphone
 Webcam
Tablet approach
 iPad or Android tablet
 Microphone
 Stylus
 Screencasting app
Udacity style Full-screen video of a document Similar to the Khan style approach, can be captured
camera surface, where the using desktops or tablets. Screen annotation software
instructor’s hand is typically is redundant. The camera (either a camera attached to
visible and a voiceover is a computer, or a built-in camera on a smartphone or
captured tablet) can be mounted above the drawing surface.
Code Video screencast of the  Computer
instructor writing code in a text  Software being used for writing
editor, IDE, or command line  Desktop microphone
 Screencasting software
Classroom Video captured from a live  Computer
classroom lecture  Microphone
 Echo360
 Webcam
Studio Instructor recorded in a studio Not covered in this masterclass
with no audience
Talking head Close-up shots of an instructor’s  Computer
head  Desktop microphone
 Webcam
 Recording software

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Errors and editing
It can sometimes be beneficial to leave errors in the recording, as long as you pick them up. When students
hear and see how you identify, acknowledge, and then deal with errors, they can learn strategies to refine
their own thinking as well. It also introduces an aspect of unpolished humanity into the video.

LEGISLATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
Copyright
You will need to be mindful of copyright, especially if you are distributing your videos through a public
channel (described in the next section). If only students enrolled in your course can access your videos, then
you may be covered under educational licences2. If videos are made available more widely, and even if not,
best practice is to use material that is licensed as Creative Commons. There are search engines that can help
you uncover such material3.

Accessibility
If video containing audio is made available publicly, there is a requirement that captions or a text transcript
are provided as well. These are not only required for viewers with hearing impairments, but also benefit non-
native speakers. Best practice would be to provide full closed captioning through the video distribution
channel4. Providing a script for the video would also be suitable (if you have used one to create the video), as
long as the coverage is the same. If there is no script, then consider providing a written document with a
series of dot points or notes about each topic in the video, designated by time marks5. There are a number
of online resources about designing and building for accessibility, as well as practical approaches to making
content accessible6.
Additionally, consider the tips in the Visuals section above regarding colour, contrast, size, and visibility.

PRACTICALITIES
Preparing to create your video
Just like any other lesson, good planning will ensure that you cover everything that you want to, help reduce
duplication, and make the process of capturing (and maybe editing) the video more time-efficient. Here are
some questions that may help you prepare:
 What is the video about? Educational videos work best when they address a finite concept or skill. If
you find yourself covering too much, break it into multiple videos.
 What will students watch? Do you want to scribble on a blank canvas, show them how to use some
software, watch you talking for a bit, or a combination? Make the most of the video platform by
using diagrams and animations, instead of text-heavy presentations.
 What will students listen to? Support what you show with what you say – don’t just read words that
are being shown on screen.
You may also want to plan the actual content of the video in a table (Table 3); this will help reduce anxiety
while recording the video and ensure that you are succinct.

2
See https://library.sydney.edu.au/help/copyright/overview-for-educators.html for more information.
3
Such as https://search.creativecommons.org/.
4
For example, Kaltura has the ability to attach an ‘SRT’ closed captioning file to videos. There are a number of ways to
generate these files – one is to upload your video privately to YouTube and use its built-in captioning tools (e.g.
http://its.uiowa.edu/support/article/103635). Generating closed captioning files is non-trivial
5
For example, "How to do X: this section shows...- 3.56 - 4:30”.
6
Such as http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/education/accessible-media-for-diverse-learners.

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Table 3: Sample video plan.

Content/purpose Visuals Narrative

Hook e.g. video of real world application of e.g. describe what this video will cover,
issue; e.g. screenshot of final worked what you will get out of it, why it’s
spreadsheet with completed chart. interesting.
Introduce sample e.g. present a typical tutorial question e.g. explain which parts of the question
problem and circle the important parts. are important, how they fit together, and
why.
Solve sample e.g. show an image of crane on the e.g. describe the steps to solve the
problem side of the screen and scribble problem, what strategies you use and
working-out on the screen, showing why, point out common mistakes.
calculator when necessary.
… … …
Quick wrap-up e.g. show overview of worked solution, e.g. explain holistic perspective of how the
highlighting key points, then show a problem was addressed, refer to similar
similar problem. problems and potential follow-up work.

Creating your video

When you are ready to create your video, start by preparing your environment. A simple office or home
screencasting setup is usually sufficient (Figure 6). A few things to take note of:
 Ensure your environment is controlled – remove distractions (close your email program so
notifications don’t awkwardly pop up while recording, redirect your phone to voicemail, and if
you’re at home, put the cat outside).
 If you are using a webcam, a simple light that casts some illumnination onto your face is usually
sufficient.
 If you are using an external microphone (highly recommended), position the microphone and set its
mode7 so that it captures your voice.
 Before you record the main chunk of content, record a few test snippets of you speaking, moving
between slides, annotating the screen, etc, and play it back to ensure everything is working.

Lighting Webcam

Microphone

Digitizer tablet

Figure 6: Sample office environment for recording screencasts.

7
Higher-quality microphones often have multiple modes which determine from which direction(s) the microphone
picks up sound. If you are just recording yourself, the ‘cardioid’ setting is usually the best – make sure the microphone
is facing the right way.

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We have covered a number of video styles and tools in a section above. It is beyond the scope of this
document to provide detailed usage instructions for these8, although we do provide a brief summary of
some of the key software (Table 4).
Table 4: Selected software for making educational videos. Software that requires a separate purchase (i.e. no institutional licence
exists, or is not free) are indicated.

Software Purpose Compatibility Functionality

PowerPoint Voice over PC9 Built-in ability to record a voiceover and screen
slides annotation for each slide. A free beta add-on called
Office Mix also allows you to easily distribute these
recordings online and add interactive elements.
Echo Desktop Screencasting PC, Mac Records the screen, as well as connected webcams and
Capture10 microphones. Also has simple editing (cutting/removal
of parts of the video) functions.
Kaltura Screencasting PC, Mac Records the screen and connected webcams and
CaptureSpace microphones. Has basic screen annotation functions
Desktop built in, as well as simple editing (removing parts of the
Recorder11 video, adding titles and credits).
Camtasia Screencasting PC, Mac Records the screen, connected webcams and
(paid) microphones, and computer audio. Has fully-featured
editing functionality such as cutting, transition effects,
zoom in/out, overlays, picture-in-picture, etc.
Explain Recordable Android, iOS Records audio as well as elements drawn onto the
Everything whiteboard app’s canvas, which can include pen, images, video,
(paid) and browser windows. Good editing features.
ScreenChomp Recordable iOS Records audio as well as elements drawn onto the
whiteboard app’s canvas.
Ink2Go12 Screen PC, Mac Draw over the screen. Has basic screen recording
annotation functions.
and recording
ZoomIt Screen PC Draw over the screen, zoom in/out of screen.
annotation

Editing your video

With good planning, hopefully the amount of editing you need to do will be minimal or absent. If you do
need to do some editing, some of the software packages mentioned in this document have simple editing
functions built in (Table 4).

8
Feel free to get in touch with the Educational Innovation team for support.
9
The Mac version of PowerPoint is not as fully featured, and does not have the same functionality.
10
Download from Blackboard -> My Units of Study area -> Recorded Lectures Help tab -> Echo360 personal desktop
capture link. See https://staff.ask.sydney.edu.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/149/.
11
Download from Blackboard -> My Units of Study area -> My Media link -> Add New button -> CaptureSpace Lite
option. See http://sydney.edu.au/education-portfolio/ei/news/pdfs/Using_Installing_CaptureSpace_Lite.pdf.
12
Institutional licence, see https://staff.ask.sydney.edu.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/809/.

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Distributing your video
You can make your video available through different channels (Table 5). The channel you choose will affect
the video’s accessibility, availability, the audience that it can reach, and the level of central support available.
Table 5: Some of the more common platforms for distributing videos to students.

Centrally
Platform How students can access videos Privacy controls
supported13
Kaltura Yes Embedded in Blackboard Only enrolled students logged in to
Blackboard
Echo360 Yes EchoCentre within Blackboard; link from Only enrolled students logged in to
Blackboard Blackboard
YouTube No Embedded in Blackboard; link through Public; secret link
to YouTube page
Vimeo No Embedded in Blackboard; link through Public; password; (domain; secret
to Vimeo page link)14

Encouraging (and making sure) your students watch your videos

It can be disappointing to create videos but not have students watch them. There are some approaches to
encouraging video usage:
 Make the videos relevant, succinct, and useful – this comes down to good planning and
understanding what your students need.
 Advertise your videos – e.g. post an announcement when the video becomes available, with a direct
link to the video; and mention it in class (you can even play a snippet from the video to show your
students how useful it is).
 Incorporate videos as part of the weekly curriculum
cycle – e.g. make pre-class videos that relate to a
concept or skill being covered, and give students a
simple online quiz on Blackboard that needs them to
have watched the video to answer.
 Embed interactivity directly into the video – a number
of platforms have this ability built in, like Kaltura15 and
YouTube16.
Figure 7: Example of Kaltura Interactive Video Quiz.
Source: kaltura.com
EXAMPLES
 First year chemistry at Sydney – explosive experiments and voiceover PowerPoints –
https://www.youtube.com/fycsydney
 First year biology at Sydney – screencasts of software and screen annotation, interviews, and
equipment demonstrations – https://www.youtube.com/fybsydney
 Veritasium – high production value science explanations combining interviews, animations, on-
location shoots – https://www.youtube.com/1veritasium

13
Institutional support through the Educational Innovation team.
14
Domain-level privacy (e.g. embedded on elearning.sydney.edu.au) and secret link only available on paid plan.
15
Kaltura has the ability to embed very simple ‘Interactive Video Quizzes’ into videos. See
http://corp.kaltura.com/Products/Features/Interactive-Video-Quizzing for helpful resources.
16
YouTube has a ‘Cards’ feature which allows you to add polls, links, and other content. See
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6140493 for more information.

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  Chris Tisdell (UNSW) – recordings of narrated handwritten maths solutions –
https://www.youtube.com/DrChrisTisdell
 Bozeman Science – screencasts of slidedecks with talking heads –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEik-U3T6u6JA0XiHLbNbOw
 Minute Physics – narrated videos of hand-drawn diagrams –
https://www.youtube.com/minutephysics

REFERENCES
[1] GUO, P.J., 2013. Optimal video length for student engagement edX, edX.
[2] GUO, P.J., KIM, J., and RUBIN, R., 2014. How video production affects student engagement: an empirical study of MOOC videos. In Proceedings
of the Proceedings of the First ACM Conference on Learning at Scale Conference (Atlanta, GA2014), ACM, 41-50.
[3] HANSCH, A., HILLERS, L., MCCONACHIE, K., NEWMAN, C., SCHILDHAUER, T., and SCHMIDT, P., 2015. Video and online learning: Critical
reflections and findings from the field SSRN, HIIG Discussion Paper Series No. 2015-02.
[4] KIM, J., GUO, P.J., SEATON, D.T., MITROS, P., GAJOS, K.Z., and MILLER, R.C., 2014. Understanding in-video dropouts and interaction peaks in
online lecture videos. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (Atlanta, GA2014), ACM, 31-40.
[5] MALAMED, C., 2011. Visual Language for Designers: Principles for Creating Graphics that People Understand. Rockport Publishers.
[6] MALAMED, C., 2016. Realistic graphics and learning: What's most effective?, the eLearning Coach: For Designing smarter learning experiences.
[7] MERCEDES, A.R., SERGIO, M., JOSE, A.M., BELEN, M., MIGUEL, R., MANUEL, C., and DARIO, A., 2016. Computer science MOOCs: A methodology
for the recording of videos. In 2016 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 1115-1121. DOI=
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON.2016.7474694.
[8] THOMSON, A., BRIDGSTOCK, R., and WILLEMS, C., 2014. " Teachers Flipping Out" beyond the Online Lecture: Maximising the Educational
Potential of Video. Journal of Learning Design 7, 3, 67-78.

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