Digital Content

Day 5: Ideas for different types of videos

Ideas for different types of videos

There are many other types of video that can assist in building your course. Today we will explore some of these other options for video – get creative! Today we will cover Interviews, Q&As, and Demonstrations. Here’s Crystal to say hello!

Interviews

The interview format allows presenters to explore content in a different way. The interviewer doesn’t always have to be a subject matter expert, which allows for a different approach to explaining concepts and ideas. Bringing in external experts, colleagues, international guests, or doing a “vox pop” with members of the public can bring in new voices and broaden the scope of your material. While face-to-face interviews in a studio work well to give a polished end result, there are many options to record in other locations, or even via online tools such as Skype.

When recording your interview give consideration to the location, is there background noise? Does it add value to the the piece? Also think about how you can frame the video, and use a few different shots to keep the piece interesting, keep in mind the Rules of Thirds. Take a look at a recent interview presentation done by ANU Media Team – ANUPoll finds the great Australian dream is fading.

Camera operator setting up the video camera

Question and Answer Videos and End of Week Wrap Up Videos

Question and Answer videos gives the teacher or instructor an opportunity to present content in a different format and have a more “conversational” feel to presentation of content. End of Week (or topic/module) videos give the presenter an opportunity to delve into the questions and difficulties students have had in the week or topic. These videos can be recorded somewhere comfortable for the presenter. You can use just a phone, or tablet, or whatever you have available. While the video production doesn’t need to be high for this task you will need to make sure that your audio is clear.

For both of these video types it is recommended that you have the questions or discussion points organised before you start recording. Even if you are planning a live Q&A session there are opportunities to ask your students to pre-submit questions to you. This process worked well for live Periscope sessions during ANUx MOOC How to Survive Your PhDin which questions and discussion points were collected through and online forum prior to recording. Periscope is a live video broadcasting app that is connected to a Twitter account, and can be used to stream video from anywhere and allow viewers to comment.

For an example, check out this Summary & Q&A video (with audience interaction, via Periscope) from the MOOC. This was a live event that was recorded for anyone who could not make it at the scheduled time.

How to Survive Your PhD – Module 7 Live Chat on Curiosity

Demonstration Videos

Demonstration videos are particularly good at providing some simulation, situational learning. This video has been used in science and medicine courses where students require instruction on a technique before attempting in a laboratory environment. This method can also be used to assist students with pre-lab work, and looking at experiments that might otherwise be long or costly. Demonstration video can also be used as a resource for students on or about to engage in fieldwork.

Filming these are best done in the appropriate environment (eg a lab, the field, etc). For short pieces that will get regular use throughout your teaching make sure you plan it out, think about lighting and sound. If you have access to media professionals reach out and ask for some advice. For videos that will be used every year, or viewed by multiple classes it might be worth while considering a higher production quailty, such as use of a studio, etc.

Here are a few examples from disciplines of a demonstration video:

Further Video Types

There are lots of other video types as well for you to consider that we don’t quite have time for today, but think about how your discipline and topic could be presented in some of these different ways.

  • Panel discussions
  • Debates
  • Promotional videos
  • Student generated content

Activity:

Which of the mentioned video types would suit your teaching? What other video styles have you used, that haven’t been mentioned?

What might be the issues you would face when trying to create some of these methods yourself?

We’d love to here if you have used any of these video types, and how the students reacted.

Sources

Guo, Kim, and Rubin (2014), How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos, http://pgbovine.net/publications/edX-MOOC-video-production-and-engagement_LAS-2014.pdf

A quick wrap up and thank you

Please let us know what you thought of the course!

You can use this poll to give us some anonymous feedback, or just leave a comment below.

23 thoughts on “Day 5: Ideas for different types of videos

  1. Everything was good, however I think more emphasize should be on the following:
    1- professional voice recording and editing
    2- General rules for using camera; for example the type of lens, distances, angle between face and camera, and lighting requirements
    Totally, I found the method very useful, and and a increased the motivation to use videos properly in teaching.

  2. * Which of the mentioned video types would suit your teaching?

    The interview format is one I have been trained to produce, but not used in practice. It could be useful for setting the context for parts of a course. For example, before the students learn how to estimate carbon emissions from computer equipment, an interview with a senior person they would aspire to work for saying why this was useful.

    * What other video styles have you used, that haven’t been mentioned?

    Recording webinars: I had some computing students work on software which would allow a webinar to be recorded and the recording then used as an interactive learning module. There is an Australian educational start-up company implementing this now.

    * What might be the issues you would face when trying to create some of these methods yourself?

    Equipment and skills are an issue. I learned to make interview training videos at the CIT. They had a studio equipped with lights, three cameras and a control booth with mixing desk. This allowed rapid recording of an interview, with one camera on a wide shot of the two people, one on the interviewer and one on the interviewee. The vision could be mixed in real time. That system used manual cameras with operators wearing headsets to communicate to the control booth.

    Perhaps the one button studio could be upgraded with another two cameras for interviews. The camera operators and control booth would not be needed. All three cameras could be recorded and then mixed later.

    * We’d love to here if you have used any of these video types, and how the students reacted.

    I have found students respond well to demonstration videos. In my case these consist of screen capture with a voice over.

    ps: The End of Week Wrap Up Videos I find worrying, as they seem like a long monologue which I doubt students would take much of in. When providing any material to students in a non-interactive mode, be it text or a video, I worry that it needs to be correct. In a live presentation, if I make a mistake the students can query it and this can be corrected instantly. But in a non-interactive format an error may go uncorrected for some time.

    As an example, I got the deadline for an assignment wrong in class yesterday. This was live, so someone queried it and it was corrected within seconds. If I got the deadline wrong on a video, I could have hundreds of emails from students, hundreds of posts to the class forum, and complaints to the sub-dean for changing the deadline. It could take days to sort out the chaos.

  3. Lots of good ideas again today, and the more specific links in the earlier section (esp. Tips for interviewing scientists, Shooting Documentary Style Interviews, and Best Camera angles for a video interview) were really useful. I’m thinking that I’m going to look into the feasibility of using a smaller device (like an iPhone) to record small group work with my students and then upload that into (or next to?) echo360 captures. I’ll need to think about getting my students to sign waivers, I guess, or whatever it is they need to do to let me use their images in a recording, but it might be a really good way of allowing online students to move from the lecture format to the class format.
    Thanks again for a great course!

  4. Which of the mentioned video types would suit your teaching? What other video styles have you used, that haven’t been mentioned?
    I think Demonstration videos would be very useful for demonstrating biological concepts and I think interviewing videos could be useful as a way of engaging interest. I’m intrigued by the idea of ‘Student generated content’ and feel like it could be a useful and fun task (e.g., in you could get the students to poll a ‘random’ selection of people on video and then collectively analyse the results). I haven’t actually used videos in teaching yet, but I alluded to use of youtube videos in previous comments and think I’d definitely use them for engagement (e.g., to pick something fun and/or interesting from the current news and twist it to relate to the current lecture’s content to foster discussion and deeper thinking).

    What might be the issues you would face when trying to create some of these methods yourself?
    I think just the learning curve of setting things up/editing etc., and trying not to spend too much time on perfecting it! In using videos for engagement, there’s always the danger that the video ‘falls flat’ in terms of inspiring discussion, so having back-up plans would be useful. As was mentioned in earlier comments, taking care to address diversity in the classroom is an important aspect of using videos, especially if the content could be sensitive or somehow triggering.

  5. Hi everyone, yes, now that we are at the end of this week’s course, I definitely see a place for my own videos in my future teaching and research programs. Certainly for interviewing [after all, I am a qualitative researcher] but I have played with the idea of doing some sort of documentary videoing in the past [for instance, to capture a research setting] and did not know where to begin to produce something of quality. I do now!

    This course has been fun; it has been achievable in what was already a busy week; it has been challenging – in regards to conceptualising how I might incorporate my own videos into my teaching and research, and actually going through the process of making one; and it has inspired me to think creatively about how I might use video to promote the desired learning outcomes for my students.

    So, thank you to the team, including my learning-colleagues – I’ve learnt a lot from your postings, too. As you can probably tell, I’ve really enjoyed this course and gained a lot from it.

    Also, thank you to Jill and Karlene for the opportunity to meet in the One-Button Studio today and actually make my own videos there! What a great learning experience that was! By the time I finished, I felt so much more comfortable with the whole process [mind you, I’ve not had time to view the videos yet!!]. I’m looking forward to what we will learn in the next course – I can see that learning the art of editing will be critical.

    Until then, cheers all,
    Catherine

    1. Thanks Catherine for your kind words and feedback! We are very glad that our course has been fun, achievable and provided some inspiration for how you might use videos in the future :-).

      I look forward to chatting with you again in the next course!

  6. I’m really looking forward to using some of these techniques in my teaching down the track – perhaps after the September course. I am particularly interested in learning more about camera interview techniques, and how to make those videos engaging. I hope you guys will also cover how to edit videos in the September course.

    I love the idea of a live chat broadcast, especially for online students. This could be a really good way of answering questions before assessment or in place of an office hour.

    Thanks again for a great course! See you on the next one *waves*

  7. I like the idea of wrapup videos — I will aim for that next online course I do. I did do a comprehensive ” course review” video, replacing the typical f2f lecture review in the final week of a course — this was (collectively) the longest video by far I have done and I got very little feedback — perhaps a total waste? Also difficult to produce as each part (of 20-30 minutes) was really big in volume (recorded with Camtasia, and I could not figure how to reduce it at recording time). I really don’t know, although I did it in response to lots of student requests for more video to support the voluminous text (and lots of other activites).

    Thanks a lot for the course — and I apologise for doing the last 3 days so late (I was ill). Some good ieas and certainly worth the investment on my part. I am going to have to go and check out the one touch studio on my own though…. very sad! I am looking forward to part 2.

  8. This was an excellent course – and I look forward to part 2. Great links and examples provided and great that the three of you made videos throughout!

    I like the interviewing videos as a method to use but something like a live feed via Periscope would be scary as the unknown questions or responses could be posted.

    Thank you for the extension – I too was ill.

  9. Video types suitable to my context would be Q&A, demonstration, top tips, student contribution etc. At this stage, I’ve had limited opportunity to try video for students beyond a wrap up and top tips, nor to gauge reaction.
    The only other style of video that I can think of is one with no speaking – just music and images. This might be appropriate in fine arts, musicology or digital media courses perhaps?
    I think it’s a steep learning curve so one of the issues I see is bringing my skills up to scratch – it requires an investment in terms of time – to have a level of proficiency and confidence with tools such as Camtasia. Another is being mindful of diverse learners and making sure to limit colloquialisms etc. being of aware of sensitive content etc.
    As I type, I’m just back from recording in the One Button Studio! I’ve used it a couple of times now and really appreciate how easy a set-up it is to use. Mindful of being able to see my notes, I used an old-school method instead of a teleprompter – sat a document holder on the stool so I could read my dot points! A useful addition to the studio could be a stand/podium?
    Big thanks Katie, Crystal and Jill for an authentic and engaging course, and for the extension due to sickness. I will be delving into the readings in greater depth to help my understanding of video pedagogy and approaches, but this has been a game-changer course for me. Look forward to number 2!

  10. Thank you for this course. I really enjoyed it.

    I’ve used basic explain animation videos, talking heads and interviews. I”m really looking forward to next semester where I am planning on building a case study using animation/cartoons

  11. I have used demonstration videos before; however, I’ve never produced them myself, I’ve always used 3rd party content. I used them to show the students the different technology linguists use for collecting articulatory data. Something that is available through our lab (an ultrasound) I can demonstrate in class, but there are certain things that we don’t have access to (an MRI), so I wouldn’t be able to make a demonstration video myself and I resort to youtube videos.
    I really like the idea of recording an interview. It is often impractical to invite the same person to class every year, but recording such an interview would allow to reuse it. It would also definitely make the content more dynamic.

  12. I’d like to explore how to make an interview more creative at the Med School. Doctor – patient interviews are common and I’d like to read more on the pedagogy and instructional design part to make it more effective and creative.
    Some issues I can see if I try to create videos using the above mentioned methods myself are –
    – Finding the subject matter experts who will work with me
    – And if I find the subject matter expert, will he/she have time

    Med School students watch a lot of demonstration videos. Students generally find them very useful especially because medicine is very visual. In fact in some courses, students are asked to produce their own videos as part of their assessment. And according to the conveners, students enjoy doing them and they enjoying marking as well.

  13. This has been a very helpful course. I will continue to read the resources given as the Medical School aims to create more Clinical Skills videos. I appreciate the effort made by the facilitators and authors in filming themselves to model teaching with videos. I’m sure it was not easy 🙂

    I also learned a lot from the comments of the other participants and I commend those who were brave enough to actually produce videos for this course. Thank you to everyone involved.

  14. I remembered that in the last PTD session, our group imagined if we were given “enough” money and time, we would like to invite all experts in this field to our classroom and give a talk. Glen commented that it could be achieved by a video interview. Thrilled to encounter this idea again in this coffee course.
    The Q&A videos will be of great help in our final exam consultation sessions. Many students asked similar questions and the tutors had to repeat the answer again and again. If we ask the students to provide their questions first, the process will be more efficient.

  15. Another great example from a recent course that I would absolutely do again, was a mock “Q&A” style panel where our students were the studio audience (and had to file questions in the week leading up to the session) and we all walked into a room that had been set up to replicate a TV studio, so panel of speakers up front and an arc of chairs surrounding them. This time around, we had a professional roaming camera in the room that was not recording (but students didn’t know until after about this) so students were “fake recorded” asking their questions when the moderator prompted them. It was an excellent session, we had the right mix of panelists who enjoyed the format and our students were really excited about the new format. Next time, I’d like to actually film it (this will have $$ ramifications of course), but the great thing about the Q&A style format is that is made to be cut into chunks of 5 minute segments that can be used as fun content for the next course iterations.

  16. Haven’t used any videos yet, but I think the interview or panel styles might be appropriate to explore. As others have already identified, I suspect the biggest issues would be technology and my own lack of knowledge.

  17. I think looking at todays resources, particularly watching a few of the videos about how to set up interview style videos, and the videos for skill mastery, the thought that I am left with is actually as someone who teaches qualitative research – ie how to interview people, is wondering if there might be an option for me to somehow create a video of an interview in order to teach students some of the tips and tricks of interviewing. I think I would need to think about it a lot more and what would be the best way to approach it, but I definitely wouldn’t have had this idea if I hadn’t done this module – so thanks!!

  18. Tom makes a good point regarding using interviews to provide motivation for students for different parts of a course. We have had similar ideas regarding interviewing clinicians or later year students in the Medical School but haven’t tried this in practice. In general, I think that the demonstration style of video would be most useful in my teaching, since it would allow me to walk the students through difficult concepts in a perhaps more concise and coherent way than in a lecture. I have created a number of video animations that I use in my lectures, but have not added audio which would be a vast improvement over the text that I currently use. The problem with my current method is that is requires the students to look at both the animation and read the explanatory text at the same time. This is definitely less than ideal – audio dubbing would be a much better option. In terms of issues that might arise, editing springs to mind. During my small forays into this area, I have found that time is my enemy, and need to remember not to be too ambitious. You end up with a lovely product, but it comes at a cost.

    1. Hi Corinne, connecting this to your comment on the previous post about what types of videos might be best, I think there is definitely a cost/benefit analysis to be done when taking the time to produce videos. The production effort and time it takes to put together a well-designed and effective video with animation + text + voice over can be extensive, and might not be worth your time necessarily to do it. There are lots of great examples out there already on YouTube and other places that could be shared with your students to explain key concepts. In your previous comment you mentioned that personal, welcome videos might be a good approach as this is something only you can do, and also a brief “talking head” video is easier to produce and doesn’t require extensive post-production.

  19. I like all the video ideas here but I am struggling to think of how to apply them to my courses. Demonstrating techniques could be useful for students to refer to when they’re preparing pieces of assessment, but in my discipline we already struggle to get students to attend classes and to do readings. I’m not sure if they will watch videos either, unless their assessment rests on responding to them! It might be fun to get students to create their own videos for assessment instead!
    I’m glad to know what the different options are now. I will keep them in mind when I’m developing course content in the future. I think my #1 challenge will be working out how to get students to use them.

  20. I am next going to try interviews and plan for demonstrations. This course has been useful in the tips and guidelines and to remind me to get back to my original goal of including introductory videos for the courses that I am coordinating. I like the idea of conclusion videos too, thank you!

  21. A course I tutored in asked students to create a vodcast-style presentation instead of a traditional in-person presentation as an assessment task. The simple option that we recommended was a narrated powerpoint, but students were given freedom to choose their preferred format. We had a lot of really excellent and creative submissions. Student feedback on this assessment was somewhat mixed, however. Some students stated that they liked that they could record the presentation privately and were not ‘put on the spot’ in class. Others found the technology intimidating and/or excessively time-consuming.

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