How do you use video in your e-learnings?

It’s expected that next year more than 80% of the web traffic will be in form of video. We all daily consume billions of videos through computers and tablets, but mostly through smartphones. A logical step would be to give videos an important role in your online learning hub and e-learnings. Furthermore, our brain loves moving images. We most easily remain focused on real conversations in which we also perceive the tone of the voice and the non-verbal communication, and that’s what a video is about. It combines texts, images and sounds to create an appealing learning hub and it increases the involvement of the users. How do you apply a video in your learning hub? What should you keep in mind? We give 5 ideas and tips.

5 video ideas for you online training

1. Short interviews

Interviews that last a few minutes are excellent ways to increase involvement in a subject. Users listen easily to an interview, because this form naturally signals a feeling of expertise on a subject.

A short interview can be used to communicate the ‘best practices’ and advice by personal anecdotes and experiences, followed by learned lessons.

2. Onboarding video’s

Reading a manual on ‘Everything you need to know as a new employee’ is boring. It costs effort to read this information, to understand it and to remember it. After a few hours of labour as a user you don’t even remember with what topics you started.

Using videos, you can let experienced colleagues tell about the do’s and don’ts in a company. In short videos of a few minutes you let them share their experiences and give advices. In this manner, they immediately get to know their colleagues.

In terms of onboarding and meeting, you can also make excellent use of a video tour. A virtual tour for your users through the company or the course centre strengthens the involvement.

3. Testimonial op screen

A video of an enthusiastic user always stimulates the use of your hub, regardless if you have an online learning hub as an educator or if you only use the hub within your own organization. A written review is often perceived with suspicion: ‘is this real?’. Using a video, the users will receive first handed how the content of the course is experienced and how it’s applied to the practice

4. Instructions and demos

It doesn’t matter how detailed a step-by-step manual is, it’s almost always complicated to follow this on paper. Another way to inform your users on the use of for example new software or a feature within a package is by using short instruction videos.

Moreover, demo videos are a great way to record corporate or technical processes and ‘best practices’. Ask for example an employee to show how you can use a product optimally or how you perform a certain process.

5. Animation videos

Animation videos offer many creative possibilities. You can create the animation exactly the way you want, and also about what you want. Using animations you can create everything you specifically want, a concept or a process. However users identify the easiest with a real person, sometimes you don’t want to evoke associations at all.

An advantage is that you can use bits of your animations easily in other parts of your training. Does a part of the content need an update? You don’t need to create the whole video again, but you can simply change the relevant parts.

You can let a specialized company create the animation, but you can possibly make one yourself with the online tools such as Videoscribe or GoAnimate.

Functionality of your video

Ensure that your video is functional on various platforms and devices, so you provide videos that can be displayed optimally. Please note the file size. Videos of high quality are professional and create a high involvement, but they shouldn’t result in long loading times or malfunctioning videos. Users then drop out, which you don’t want. So search for the right balance.

If you also note the length of your videos beside this, it will all be alright. Do you have more to say than can be put in a video of a few minutes? Divide your subject in various smaller subjects. The user can take the information in smaller blocks, and research and experiences show that ‘micro learning’ is one of the most effective ways of learning.