Online Higher Education Courses

These 700+ instructional videos were created for 30+ online higher education courses designed to Quality Matters standards at Florida Atlantic University's Center for Online and Continuing Education.

Responsibilities: Instructional Media Design, Project Management
Tools Used: Adobe Creative Cloud, Canvas, FileZilla, Google Workspace, Mediasite, Microsoft 365, Recording Equipment, Wrike
Year: 2021-2023

Process

I collaborated with various IDs, SMEs, and colleagues to create 700+ instructional videos during my two years of experience at Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Center for Online and Continuing Education. The videos were used in 30+ online higher education courses designed to Quality Matters standards and primarily included talking head introductions and PowerPoint or Lightboard lectures.

The media development portion of each course build took place in four phases: pre-production, production, post-production, and media build. Throughout the entirety of each project, I maintained contact with the IDs, SMEs, and colleagues via email and meetings and updated the project management software, Wrike.

Pre-Production

Each project started with an initial meeting with the ID and SME. During the initial meeting, I delivered a presentation that discussed a few benefits of adding media to a course, introduced myself and my role in the instructional design process, and described the media services on offer.

After the initial meeting, the ID and SME conducted several blueprint meetings to design the course. I joined one of those meetings, generally the second, to discuss media more specifically with the SME. During the second blueprint meetings, I identified whether the SME wanted to use our recording services or self-record, determined what technologies the SME was interested in using (teleprompter, Wacom, Lightboard, green screen, etc.), provided guidance on media type, style, and duration, and scheduled the first recording session, if possible.

For quality purposes, we encouraged the use our recording services, over self-recording. For various benefits, we encouraged the use of scripts and our teleprompter. And, as a minimum, we encouraged SMEs to include a personal, course, and module introductions.

Production

The production phase involved scheduling and conducting recording sessions. The week before the session, I itemized what was to be recorded, determined the studio set-up, and gathered scripts and PowerPoints. An hour before the session, I set up the studio or, for on-location sessions, packed all necessary equipment. Directly after the session, I returned the studio to the default set-up (or unpacked the equipment) and backed up the footage to the network drive and Google Drive or OneDrive.

As I conducted the recording sessions for each project, I populated the "Media Plan", a Google Sheets spreadsheet, with the following information: module number and topic, video title, SME, recording session number and date, and total number of videos recorded.

Self-Recording

For SMEs that opted to self-record, first I identified what software they would use (and provided recommendations, if necessary) and how they wanted to deliver the video files. Then, I provided a list of all the videos from the "Media Plan" with suggested delivery dates, as well as guidelines for self-recording.

Post-Production

After each recording session (or delivery of self-recorded videos), I edited all videos within 5-7 business days in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. I incorporated graphics, photos, and motion graphics to illustrate and/or highlight important information and adhered to FAU's branding guidelines. The videos were reviewed by my supervisor or a Digital Media Coordinator and revised, if necessary.

Media Build

The last phase involved finalizing the media and captioning. Finalizing the media primarily involved uploading the files to Mediasite using FileZilla and embedding the videos in the Canvas development shell. It also involved several smaller tasks like verifying that the "Media Plan" was up-to-date, all videos had thumbnails, and all project files were backed-up to Google Drive or OneDrive.

Lastly, all videos were captioned for accessibility. First I populated the "Media Content Sheet", a Google Sheets spreadsheet, with the following information: module number, video title, Mediasite link, length, and caption language. Using that spreadsheet, I submitted a caption request with the total cost and, after approval by my supervisor, triggered captions in Mediasite.

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Takeaways

Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned about instructional media during my two years of experience as a Media Production Assistant at FAU's Center for Online and Continuing Education:

Benefits of Incorporating Video into Online Instruction

Videos are engaging.
- Our eyes are attracted to movement and our brains can process visuals much faster than text.
- The combination of movement/visuals, sound, and text can catch the learner's attention and pack a lot of easily interpretable information into a small package.
Videos allow the learner to form a connection with the instructor.
- The ability to see and hear the instructor can foster a sense of social partnership, or at least build a virtual relationship, between the learner and instructor.
Videos make use of multimodal learning.
- Videos can incorporate graphics, photos, animations, and motion graphics to show while telling.
Videos offer a customizable learning experience.
- Learners can rewatch an entire video or specific part of a video and pause to take notes or think something through, as often as needed.
- They are also able to adjust the playback speed and enable captions.
Videos can be consumed on multiple devices.
- Learners can watch from their phone or tablet, anytime, anywhere.

Best Practices for Creating Instructional Videos

Keep videos short, no more than 20 minutes and ideally somewhere between 3 to 6 minutes.
Use a script with conversational language.
Speak relatively quickly and with enthusiasm.
Add graphics, photos, animations, and motion graphics for multimodal learning and engagement.
Express your personality.
- One SME I worked with added her own drawings to her PowerPoints, changed her outfit every few videos, and finished every module introduction video with a science joke.

Benefits of Using Scripts for Instructional Videos

Using a script to record videos can:

Ease camera shyness
Prevent the use of filler words
Make it easier to start over after mistakes
Prevent scope creep
Help the editor in post-production

Tips for Self-Recording

Use a well-lit room.
- If possible, use a window for natural light, but be sure to sit facing the window. Avoid sitting with your back to the window.
Use a quiet room and, if possible, an external microphone.
Make sure the background is empty or least isn't too busy.
- If desired, use a few subtle items like plants and simple wall art. Otherwise, use an empty wall or space.
Position the camera at eye level.
- Avoid tilting your laptop screen back to frame the shot. Instead, raise your laptop using a stack of books.
Position yourself so there is some headroom: space between the top of your head and the top of the frame.
- Avoid cutting off the top of your head.
Leave a few seconds of silence after you start recording and before you stop recording.
Pause for mistakes and drinks breaks.
- If you make a mistake, pause and restart the most recent sentence.
- If you need a drink break, pause and restart the most recent sentence after setting the drink down.