Video learning

Video learning is definitely a trend right now: Did you know that in 2020, 82% of all internet traffic was driven by videos? And no wonder: The combination of moving images and sound not only makes video content particularly easy to follow, it’s also fun! It is the best way to convey complex content and inject new impetus into—what can sometimes be quite dry—training courses! In this article, you’ll find an overview of the different learning video formats, a decision-making tool to help you figure out which content is best suited to which video format, and a list of video features your eLearning software should definitely contain to help you take your eLearning to Level 2024!

Think about your own experiences. Some content is simply difficult to understand in text form, plus, videos are usually much more entertaining and easier to follow. Video learning is therefore always worthwhile when complex contexts or practical actions need to be explained and/or when you notice a certain ‘learning fatigue’, lack of motivation, or even poor results among learners. In cases like this, video learning can work wonders!

Often featuring animations or easy-to-understand graphics, explanatory videos help learners to visualize complex situations in an understandable way. You can incorporate ‘doodles’ or simple animated illustrations, stop-motion technology, or the flat lay trick, in which a hand pushes individual elements onto screen (see the linked video). These can either be three-dimensional objects or scraps of paper on which the respective objects or words are printed.

You may remember the simplest type of educational video from your student days, but during the pandemic they became the center of every student’s life: Video recordings of lectures, made available online so that they could watch them anytime, anywhere.

This video format is of course also ideal for preserving analog training courses or lectures and making them accessible long term. However, bear in mind that these types of videos—especially if they are long presentations—can be quite tough to follow and attention wanes quickly.

You should therefore only use this video format in the special cases mentioned above and otherwise err on the side of shorter and more entertaining formats. Also pay particular attention to the sound quality in this format! Poor sound quality in long lectures without practical demonstrations almost always results in high drop-out rates!

Practical demonstrations are always a great choice when it comes to explaining how to do something—how to operate a machine, use software, set up experiments, or similar. It is important that the crucial points are all shown in real time, from different perspectives if necessary, and in such a way that all the important details are clearly identifiable.

Whenever highly topical, relevant, or controversial issues are involved, it is worth investing in a panel discussion or an expert interview to give the content greater authority and credibility. This may be the case, for example, if you want to introduce a new working technique and employees need to be motivated and convinced to use it, or if there are new scientific findings on topics that affect the company and that employees need to know about. A video like this can either be placed at the beginning of the respective eLearning course or integrated somewhere else.

Interactive video simulations help you learn in a practical way and consolidate your knowledge until you can apply it so confidently that you can easily transfer it to the real world. You’re probably thinking of pilot training and complex machine simulations right now, but the technology can also be used at a much lower level.

Professional coaching software supports scenario-based communication training to help prepare your employees for customer, sales, or consulting meetings. Realistic dialogs are simulated in which the reactions of the virtual conversation partner adapt to the learner’s actions in real time. Different responses lead to different situations, which enable coaching participants to learn from experience how best to proceed, and solidify their knowledge of the arguments and how they should conduct themselves.

With each technological advance, the world of work has accelerated. As a result, there has been rapidly increasing demand for knowledge to be made available quickly and for problems to be solved fast. Networked technologies are everywhere, and they enable us to meet this demand: We google solutions on our smartphones—whether we’re looking for a dinner recipe, information on building a shelf, or a video tutorial on playing the ukulele. The same thing is happening in the agile world of work. The effect: We are no longer learning in advance of, but in response to problems and needs. This informal form of learning is already going on and is worth supporting. In contrast to complex web-based training courses involving hours of study, knowledge can also be taught in small units and thus in line with our new learning habits. It’s called microlearning.

Microlearning units require learners to spend between one and a maximum of 15 minutes learning; they are presented in a range of formats, including videos, to increase their effectiveness still further. Make sure that the video really only covers one specific learning objective.

Which video format you ultimately choose for your video learning depends on two factors:

• The learning objective
• and feedback from your learners,

whereby the learning objective should take priority. The descriptions of the individual video formats covered here should help you to choose the right format based on the learning content and learning objective. Nevertheless, regularly ask your employees for feedback on the videos. Perhaps one format will be particularly popular?