Benefits, Formats, and Guidelines for Using Video in Education

For lecturers, there are several reasons to use videos to support their teaching: First, there are the medium’s strengths in illustrating processes: A video can visualize precise step-by-step instructions or, for example, accurately reproduce the movements of a machine.

In addition, there are some less obvious—but organizationally very helpful—advantages for instructors: A video can replace the instructions for setting up an experiment, make a time-consuming and expensive field trip unnecessary, or bring experts with tight schedules into the lecture.

The audiovisual medium thus brings visual aids and expert knowledge into the lecture, where compromises previously had to be made for organizational reasons.

In addition, videos are ideal for providing a quick introduction to a topic or for activating students’ prior knowledge. They can often be used effectively in teaching for this purpose over several years.

The list of benefits for students largely overlaps with the strengths of video already mentioned—after all, learners should be the ones to benefit most from good teaching!

For example, the time flexibility of this asynchronous medium is an advantage for teaching as a whole. For learners, this advantage means, for instance, that they can individually determine the pace at which they consume the content—and thus their own learning pace. A video can be paused and replayed at any time .

Meanwhile, research on instructional videos has also shown that videos promote an understanding of concepts and, depending on the topic, may even be more effective than a written text.

The instructional video provides location flexibility ( even outside of pandemic-related emergencies). With a laptop or smartphone, downloaded videos can be played anywhere or—with a suitable internet connection—watched as a stream. Whether studying for an exam in the park, preparing for an in-person class on the train, or solving a specific problem in a café: the content is always available.

While this doesn’t distinguish instructional videos from (digital) texts, they reach a different level in terms of educational effectiveness: The content is not only perceived visually but also absorbed through multiple channels (auditory and visual). It is important, however, that students recognize the videos as a means of knowledge transfer and actively engage with them.

For lecturers, some video formats (especially synchronous live formats) offer the advantage that they do not have to leave their office and therefore do not have to spend time commuting; for example, when they join a in-person lecture as a guest speaker or offer a fully digital course.

And then there’s a persistent misconception that’s actually more of an advantage: the effort involved. Yes, producing a video is time-consuming. You can use it in many course types and teaching scenarios, such as hybrid, problem-based learning, and the flipped/inverted classroom: By having students prepare using videos and other instructional materials, you’ll have significantly more time during in-person sessions to address questions or discuss course content. Your students can watch the videos as often as they like, so you’ll save time in the long run.

Even updating the material is no problem. Thanks to the videos’ modular structure, specific changes can be made without much extra effort. Once designed and produced, a video is a low-maintenance way to convey knowledge for years to come .

And don’t worry: even if lectures were always offered as video streams as well, lecture halls wouldn’t automatically remain empty. In-person interaction between lecturers and students is important for the learning process—and students know this too (at least according to research on instructional videos).

Video presentation formats range from recording a lecture using a (digital) whiteboard or flip chart to green-screen production, which allows for the integration of pre-produced material (video, audio, images, presentation slides) into the video.

Among other things, this format is well-suited for the flipped classroom model, in which content is delivered via video, leaving more time during in-person sessions for exercises or review questions.

Another use case would be the “video reader.” With condensed video presentations of the lecture material, for example, the in-person session before the exam does not need to be spent on review and can be used exclusively to address open questions.

This category also includes screencasts and slidecasts, which can be recorded directly on a computer. With the appropriate software (e.g., Camtasia), you can create these on your own; however, we’re happy to assist you or provide tips on how to improve your own productions.

Video is ideally suited for depicting sequences of movement. Beyond simply illustrating, for example, mechanical processes, the video demonstration format can also be used to visualize abstract processes or dynamics using cutout or stop-motion techniques.

Furthermore, video demonstrations are also well-suited for presenting learning and research opportunities; for example, they can provide a preview of a research laboratory or a course.

The name of this category already gives it away: This section is for videos in which we film you with a camera or you film yourself. This can lead to two quite different outcomes: On the one hand, teaching projects, experiments, or guest lectures can be filmed and edited for later (public) presentation . On the other hand, videos can also be used for simple (non-public) reflection .

Many are already familiar with expert interviews from in-person classes. A subject-matter expert is invited and interviewed by the lecturer or the class. However, this usually involves the challenge of finding a time that works for everyone. Experts typically have very little time.

With a video camera or even a green-screen studio, this is no longer a problem. Whether visiting experts on-site or recording an interview in the studio: A pre-recorded interview guest has no scheduling conflicts!