Learning through Online Videos

Learning through online videos is a very enjoyable experience. Video lectures are one of the smart tools for delivering the course content in the modern-day classroom scenario. The instructor selects the best content delivery method during the process of creating an extensive educational method in the course design phase.

The major benefits of an online educational video include its accessibility to different audiences such as the international students community, academicians, and working professionals; its flexibility as an online learning tool; its cost effectiveness for content creation and dissemination.

Some of the other advantages of online educational videos are listed below:

Facilitating thinking and problem solving

Creating videos for educational purposes and using them fruitfully is a challenge. This creative challenge enriches students and teachers and makes them more up-to-date with modern-day technology and pedagogy. Creating and using such videos also enable students to develop a range of interchangeable essential qualities in addition to film-making. These qualities include research skills, collaborative working and problem solving.

Assisting with mastery learning

An educational video can be as good as an instructor in conveying the facts or demonstrating the procedures required for assisting in mastery learning, in which a student can view complicated clinical or mechanical procedures as many times as he/she needs to. Moreover, the associated features of modern web-based media players can be used to boost the ‘active viewing’ approaches.

Inspiring students

Statistics show that digital videos can have a very positive impact on students when it is included in student-centred learning activities by means of:

• Increased student motivation
• Improved learning experience
• Better performance during exams
• Enhanced ability for deeper learning of the subject
• Improved team-building and communication skills
• Improved skills for interviews
• Opportunities for staff development.

Authentic learning opportunities

Online educational videos provide authentic learning opportunities to students by encouraging academic accuracy

Process of learning through Online Videos:

The process is as follows:

• First, the instructor works with an instructional designer, and then consults other team members for media opportunities, technology needs, ideas for webinar, and other course elements.
• Various elements are considered while creating the media strategy, such as: how media can help students achieve instructional objectives; how long a “shelf life” the media will have; the time and cost required for production (for instance: location shoots and animation require more resources).
• The media strategy is formulated by an active involvement of the instructional designer, media producer, and faculty member.
• After a media plan has been established, the pre-production process begins. Faculty members create and send outlines or scripts for review, and animated videos are storyboarded.
• The media team then arranges the  dates for production, and reserves spaces for video shoots. Audio, lighting, camera, backdrops and a teleprompter are set up during production. Most of the time, videos are produced with faculty members delivering the content.
• Videos are edited one to three weeks after shooting in the post-production process.
• Then a subsequent review process takes place which involves the instructional designer and instructor.
• The final videos are then compressed, exported, and uploaded to an open-source video platform for storing and embedding media.

Videos with a high number of views usually have a direct connection to course assignments (or course assessments). In case a video contains the required content that a student must use for an assignment or discussion posting, it is correlated with higher view numbers.

The presence of an instructor and the facilities for interpersonal interaction are two of the most significant factors of online course quality. So, one of the main benefits an online instructional video can offer is creating faculty presence in an online environment.

Student results in online courses trail considerably behind those in face-to-face courses. As they design their online courses, instructors should take into account the following observations:

• Students feel that their instructors are responsive when they encourage questions through multiple avenues and answer them promptly.
• Students distinguish between technology tools for a course content with a clear purpose and those with no purpose. The instructors can establish a sense of purpose by incorporating technology into regular course activities and by specifically telling the students when and how to use a technology-based resource.
• Integrating audio and video with lectures provides a multitude of ways for students to get involved with the content and thus creates a strong instructor presence.
• Live weekly online chat sessions allow personalised instructions and give students the opportunity to get to know their instructor better. The instructors can establish a flexible schedule of chat sessions and require students to attend at least a few of them.
• In case the  instructors do not maintain an ongoing presence on discussion boards, students may feel that their participation is a waste of time.
• Students expect and appreciate detailed instructions for assignments as well as clear and actionable feedback in addition to numeric grades.