Best Practices: Create Audio and Video Instructional Materials

Record your lectures in segments of no more than 10 minutes

There are many reasons to record lectures in short segments rather than creating one long video. As we discussed in this module, the shorter segments allow you to focus the video on a specific objective or topic within the lecture and provide more specific and structured information that will increase students' ability to comprehend it. There is also evidence that students will stop watching a video if it is too long or unfocused. An edX study from 2013 Links to an external site. indicated that 6 minutes would be the optimal video length as they saw people frequently stopped watching at that time marker. All of this suggests that short, focused segments are the best way to effectively reach students in video format. 

There is also a practical side to this advice. It's difficult to record by yourself for the regular length of your in-person lecture due to the physical demand of talking and managing your video at the same time. You also run the risk of spending a lot of time recording a lecture only to find out at the end that you haven't been recording or there's an issue with the video or audio quality. If you only record a short segment that won't be a major set back, but if it's a long lecture, it will be. Finally, the shorter segments will upload more quickly to Kaltura or Google Drive, allowing for a faster turnaround between recording and sharing with students.

Write a script for your lecture segments

Without the visual cues of the students or the context of the classroom, it can be difficult to stay on track when recording your lectures. Even if you know the material backwards and forwards, there's something about being on camera that can make even the most competent lecturer lose their train of thought. Additionally, if you do opt to record in shorter segments, the presentation of the material will be new to you and the scripting process can be a way to reimagine it. 

Scripting can mean writing out verbatim what you plan to say. This will allow you to estimate how long your segments will be, using the guidance that about 100-125 words equals one minute spoken. (There are also many speech calculators available for free online.) It also allows you to confirm before starting your recordings that you are covering all of the learning objectives. Finally, if you have the written script, you also then have a transcript for your lectures that you can provide to students as an accessibility measure. However, scripting doesn't have to be verbatim. It can be as simple as referencing structured notes prepared in advance, but more than just the bullet points that you'd have on a PowerPoint slide.

The main point of scripting is to acknowledge that when presenting your lectures in a new format, you may need to take additional steps to organize your thoughts, even if it is a lecture you've given hundreds of times. 

Ensure the audio in your video lectures is clear and audible

Though video is a visual medium, when you are lecturing the audio is just as important. If students can't hear what you're saying, then they won't be able to follow what's happening on screen. Furthermore, oftentimes what's being said expands upon the visual component, so students could miss important information if they can't hear clearly. Before recording a lecture, make sure to test the audio to ensure that you are speaking clearly and into the microphone, whether it's a microphone built in or connected to your computer. You will also need to make sure you speak into the microphone during the entire recording. 

Record your lectures in an environment free of visual distractions

Try your best to determine what's visible in your videos before recording. There may be personal aspects of your home that you do not want to reveal or something that may be distracting for the students that you'll want to do your best to ensure are not part of the video.

Use audio and text as another way of creating lecture content

Though video may seem like the easiest or most natural way to transition your in-person lectures to a pre-recorded format, audio and text are also viable options that may prove more effective for some material. The decision tree for determining how best to present your lecture materials Links to an external site. includes suggestions on when providing a text may be more useful for students such as if you have a list of key terms, dates, or statistics or foundational information that students will need to reference to understand more complex concepts. If there is nothing particularly visual or active in the lecture, then this text approach can be a better fit for communicating the material.

Similarly, if your material is not particularly visual or has a strong narrative component, you many consider recording it as audio instead of video. With the rise of podcasts, students are more accustomed to listening to content than perhaps in years past, making this a real alternative to video. It also has the advantage of reducing your preparation time because you won't need to consider how you or your space will appear in the recording. Finally, audio files are smaller than video files, making the turnaround time between recording and sharing even faster.

Give lectures a descriptive title and use a consistent numbering system

When you add the link to your lecture on the module page in bCourses, you want to make sure students understand what the link is and why they should click on it. If it looks like a long Google Drive file, it will be easy for them to get confused about what's been added and what's required. Rather, you can create titles for your lecture segments and then link the title text on your page. This way students will know exactly what they should see when they click on the link. Similarly, if you do create lecture segments, a simple numbering system will help to keep track of which lectures have been posted to which modules. The goal is to avoid a list of unspecified links and instead have a clear picture of what has been added to the course.

Add a brief welcome video on the home page

While you are busy recording your lectures, don't forget to also use the same skills and approaches to create a brief video welcoming students to the class. A short video showing them who you are and telling them a little bit about the class in your own words sets a personal tone for the course and helps to build an ongoing relationship.