Video Creation

Creating and implementing asynchronous videos can be an effective and engaging way to communicate and share content with students while also helping you create and sustain instructor presence. Providing short videos to students to explain or reinforce course topics allows students the flexibility of watching and re-watching them anytime. Additionally, presenting content in multiple formats (e.g., providing multiple means of representation) supports Universal Design for Learning. 

Strategies Video Strategies

  • Introduction/Overview videos (e.g., instructor or course introduction)
  • Mini-lecture video to explain a complex concept
  • Video demonstration
  • Screen recording to demonstrate using software (e.g., Excel)
  • A short video giving general feedback to the class about a recent assignment

Info Considerations for Using Asynchronous Video

Regardless of the type of video you plan to integrate into your online course, there are several considerations that must be kept in mind:

  • Shorter videos are much more engaging. Focus on planning videos ahead of time. Prepare your content in segments based on sub-topics, to produce videos around 5-7 minutes long. Be sure to inform students of the length of the videos.
    • Chunk longer videos into several shorter videos.
  • Consider the video delivery format and purpose. Students engage differently with lecture and tutorial videos. When recording lectures, focus more on the first-time watching experience. For tutorials, provide additional support for re-watching and skimming, such as inserting sub-goal labels in large fonts throughout the video. Remember to keep these videos between 5-7 minutes long.
  • Videos that combine slides with the speakers' talking heads at key intervals are more engaging. Set aside time to do some post-production work as well as editing to integrate videos of yourself at strategic points throughout the video.
  • Record videos in a controlled environment. A small, quiet space like an office (or home office) will help block out distractions for you and your students.
  • Consider making your videos evergreen. By not mentioning the semester or year when recording a video, you can re-use the videos for multiple semesters. 
  • Videos accompanied by a high-level of enthusiasm from the speaker are more engaging. When creating videos, consider using a more conversational tone and speaking as you would with a student one-on-one. Creating a script and practicing out loud ahead of time will help. 

Source: List adapted from How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos Links to an external site. by Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014)

Video Options for Creating Videos

Explore the options for creating videos below.

DIY Videos: LMS Software Options

  1. Record directly in Canvas: If you want to create a short summary video that you don't plan to reuse next semester, recording directly in the Canvas Rich Content Editor may be a good option to use.
    • You have limited space in your Canvas course and video files take up more space than other file types. You would not want to rely on the recorder in Canvas if you plan to record a lot of videos.
  2. Zoom: Although Zoom is an easy-to-use and effective video conferencing tool, there are a few limitations when using Zoom to record asynchronous video, which is listed below.
    • Zoom recordings cannot be embedded into your course. You can only link to these videos.
    • Zoom provides the ability to edit the automatic closed captions.
  3. Camtasia: Camtasia is a software suite, created and published by TechSmith, for creating and recording video tutorials and presentations via screencast. This is a paid tool. 
  1. Adobe Premiere, Rush, or Spark: Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) has a variety of video editing tools including Premiere, Rush, and Spark.