As the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus and its aftereffects, there is going to be a paradigm shift in the way we communicate and learn. Videos have become the de-facto means of communications, sharing of ideas and conveying messages, in education, office, and personal spaces.
There was a time when videos were considered just a supplement to classroom training. But with social distancing norms, avoiding public gatherings and lockdowns of schools taking precedence, most teaching institutes like schools, colleges, and universities are moving towards a digital-only curriculum. People are comfortable with learning via videos. The popularity of Do-it-Yourself videos on YouTube is a testament to this. It is becoming abundantly clear that videos are going to become the next generation textbooks of our uncertain future.
Society, in general, is lucky to have a ready technology infrastructure that can handle large volumes of high-quality videos globally. Thanks to the proliferation of various software, editing videos to make them display-ready is a breeze. InVideo offers the best video editor for beginners, especially if you have to move to a digital video-only mode for teaching.
Let us take a quick look at how teachers can use videos as a replacement for textbooks, rather than a supplement. Over centuries books have been immensely popular because they are easily available, can be indexed into chapters, can be repeatedly read after the class, and provide the same set of information to everyone. What books lacked the most was the interactive visual element. By moving textbooks to videos, we can achieve all the above within a single medium. A single video can combine talking heads, slides, images, clips, and demonstrations.
Given below are some of the advantages that can be achieved by using videos as a replacement for textbooks.
Swipe Through Chapters
By using widgets or Call to Actions (CTAs), the viewer can directly go to a particular chapter or page as indexed.
Voice, Text & Image Search
Recent advancements in video functionality allow the viewer to search for anything in the video based on text, image, or voice.
Translations To Multiple Languages
Video allows for the automatic generation of a transcript (using a speech to text engine), based on the voice-over within the video. This translation is recorded as a standard SRT file. While the initial transcript is typically in English, the author can now easily change the original language of the transcript to any localized language, helping students understand it in the language they know best.
Interactivity
Interactive videos have been around for some time now, catering to marketing audiences. The same techniques can be applied to teaching videos as well. An interactive video allows the student the ability to interact with the video content itself using a variety of tools. Students can click, drag, scroll, hover, gesture, and complete other digital actions to interact with the video’s content, similar to the actions performed on a website or mobile app. Common types of interactivity include hotspots, 360-degree viewing, data input forms, branching out, or zooming.
Links To Images & Charts
By interspersing the video with various links like images, different videos, or topics of additional knowledge and research, teachers can keep students both entertained and satiated in their thirst for information.
Whiteboard Presentations & Animation To Explain Complex Subjects
Presenting complex mathematical equations or teaching new algorithms is not an easy task. However, by re-creating the same on a whiteboard and capturing it on video, or by using animation, teachers can help simplify learning.
By using a professional animated promo video maker, teachers can easily create their own animations without requiring to master enhanced technical skills. Videos can complement the regular curricula teaching, along with giving students real-life connections about why they’re learning something.
Inserting Quizzes
Quizzes can be easily embedded into any video. Using quizzes within the video can help the teachers get a real-time overview of how much of the teaching content has been understood by the students. By making passing the quiz mandatory to move to the next section, the teacher can control the flow of the lesson easily. The overall results of the class can be quickly computed and compiled in an instant to provide grades to the students.
Analytics & Reporting
By using videos as textbooks, teachers can get complete analytics of the viewership. They can dive down into how much of a video every student has seen.
Feedback & Reusability
One of the great things about using videos is their reusability. For example, if there is a particular section that needs to be changed or updated, there is no requirement to re-shoot the entire video. Only the particular clip can be re-recorded and changed within the video.
On-Demand Availability
Videos once recorded and uploaded for online viewing, can be stored indefinitely. Just like any textbook, the video can be conveniently viewed at any time and in the comfort of their home or on the move.
How To Transform Videos As Textbooks
A few years ago, video creation required bulky, difficult-to-use video cameras with . Playback required a TV, a VCR, and lots of cables to ensure that everything worked nicely together. Laptops and mobile phones have changed everything. Things have changed so much that creating videos is now just ‘point and shoot.’ The right video editing software can help teachers convert boring videos into a fun-filled and enriching learning experience.
Summary
All said and done, one thing is for certain: Teachers can never be replaced, only the medium. No matter how powerful a video is for learning, it needs to be emphasized that teachers should still be the one guiding and driving the students through the content. With schools and campuses bearing a deserted look, students should still be able to learn in an engaging and unrestrictive manner. And videos are placed as the best digital medium for future learning.