The Playbook for Designing the Instructional Videos Course
It's true: the creation of online courses involves many hours of laborand can be a very long procedure, especially when you make a whole lot of educational videos.
One thing that can help you simplify the course creation and design process? Storytelling
Elise London, the resident expert in video who produces all our internal and marketing classes She explains that the secret for creating interactive virtual classes is using stories in order to organize and present information.
The ability to identify the main story behind the course's problem and structuring your content with the technique of storytelling using hero's journey can be game changers. Here's everything you need to be able to do in order to design, organize and produce an effective online course that includes the equipment you'll require.
Jump ahead:
- Finding the ideal topic for your online course
- The process of planning and structuring the online courses you offer
- Shooting your course video content
- Do you have the skills to design your online course?
Find the perfect subject to your online class
It's not necessary to come up with a brand new innovative, outside-the-box concept for your course.
Choose a subject which is already popular. A thorough understanding of your goals and public will assist. Here's how:
Recognize what's currently resonating
Utilize data measurement tools such as Google Analytics to find high-performing published pieces. Find an ebook that covers one particular subject that performs very well? Consider expanding it into a detailed video course.
You can also survey your list of email subscribers to discover subjects that your readers would like a virtual course on. Send the same survey out via social media (if you've got an engaged audience there) and to communities you're a part of.
Remember: the goal is to find a course topic that your audience has an interest in.
Go deep, not wide
"If you consider the kinds of questions that learners ask around your subject, and the emotions they feel as they tackle your subject will help you present your course's video as the solution to it.
The concept"live streaming" can be vast, but it can be overwhelming for students to grasp." Elise London, Senior content production manager
The answer? Reexamine the emotions the audience has to face when dealing with a topic.
Do you ask yourself:
- What difficulties are our readers experiencing as they work to solve the problem?
- Are there feelings that are so overwhelming they need help to conquer?
In the case of live streaming, as an example there could be anxieties as people create their first live stream. The subject of a course would then be "How you can easily setup live streaming so that you're not overloaded."
A tip to help you prepare your course name
If you're thinking of names for your class, consider how your audience thinks regarding the particular issue you're solving and integrate that into the title.
Designing for and structuring the online course
Elise advises you to use the hero's story to outline the course online. It involves:
- Addressing the issues that students face. Find these by understanding questions folks have regarding the subject of your class.
- Helping them overcome difficulties and identifying solutions. This is the time to divide the subject into modules as well as video lessons with each lesson answering an inquiry.
- Leaving them with the promised transformation. Provide more resources like checklists, templates and other forms to assist students in applying what they learn.
Here's how to dig out the audience's questions and goals for planning and structuring your program:
Find out what questions your target audience might have
Instead of thinking about it, try these instructions:
- Browse Reddit as well as Quora to compile a list of questions that are frequently asked.
- Surveys and one-on-one calls with learners to ask questions directly.
- Take calls from customers from support and sales teams to answer common queries.
- Look up bestsellers' index pages on Amazon for insights into the topics they address on the subject of study.
If you've held webinars about the subject it is also possible to examine questions that attendees have asked to inform your study.
Break the course topic into buckets
Next, reference the challenges and concerns of your audience to break your topic into narrative sections which build upon each other in the next stage on the journey of a learner.
"Instead of saying that we're going to show you how using an interactive program' (which is a broad, hard-to-wrap-my mind-around thing), say "We're teaching beginners, intermediate and advanced capabilities. That way, the topics [for your online course] will fit in one of the three categories." Elise London, Senior content production manager
Simply put "disparate ideas " into smaller pieces and then put them into buckets so that when you're looking at the course from afar, everything seems more achievable."
Pro tip on course structure
Be sure to outline your course's structure in order to meet the students at any point in their journey. It's often easy to overshare and confuse students, thanks to the trap of information (a cognitive bias that assumes your audience knows as much as you are). Make sure to check the course's design to ensure it is simple.
Plan video lessons
- Make sure you address your students' challenges in relation to the problem a video lesson will be able to solve.
- Answer the questions by giving solutions to the problem that they're dealing with.
- Summarize the video or offer additional resources that can help the students to change.
Script on-demand video lessons
pro tip
Shooting your course video content
You'll require tools
If you want a quality set-up and production tool kit, you'll need:
- Microphone Cameras (two at the minimum) as well as a 3- or 4 point lighting kit
- Learning Management System (LMS). It will host the course's video which makes it easily accessible to students. Examples: Teachable, Podia, and Kajabi.
- . An ad-free video platform to host, record edit and even add elements of interactivity to educational videos which you could later upload to your LMS.
- Teleprompter. A display device that shows moving text on screen to make it easy for people on the screen to record video.
- Music pedal. A foot-operated, budget-friendly keyboard which allows you to change the direction of slide slides displayed on screen.
Building an ideal video production setting
Elise recommends you:
1. Do not use fluorescent overhead lights.
These can cast harsh shadows upon your face. The lights of fluorescent bulbs can flicker occasionally creating a green shade and altering the video quality's consistency.
2. Record with no natural light
Natural light patterns change through the day. If you happen to be filming for hours consecutively, the light quality in your video won't look even, Elise warns. Also, this could be a issue when you choose to transfer segments from one video to another.
3. Set your cameras at different angles
The second camera can't "just make editing more interesting" (which helps even if you're working with a script in the event that you are able to do it all perfect in one go) but also to prevent the boredom of watching at the face of the instructor."
"More crucially, a different camera can be used to hide the cuts" Elise adds. "So should you decide that what you're saying will not come out in one take, then the way that you hide that edit is to use B-roll, or simply cutting it into another camera."
4. Create a clean, clutter-free background
Avoid bright colors like orange, magenta, and yellow since these can create reflections in the color and can be distractions for the viewers. Go for neutral background tones such as dark blue, grey and soft white. They look stunning on the camera as well as are comfortable for your eyes.
Recording your online video course
It's natural to feel a little nerve-racking. If you've put in the time in planning and drafting the course of your recording, it should not be a problem.
5. Always make use of the Teleprompter
Teleprompters can prevent you from being stuck in a screen freeze as you try to remember what you'll need to do next.
It makes recording simple and helps with editing, however "it also helps you maintain eye contact with your camera as you look into the teleprompter screen," notes Elise.
6. Use a music pedal to change between slides
"Instead of using a keyboard or clicker that's visible in your hand, use the music pedal in order to switch the slides you're playing. It's basically just the same as a USB Bluetooth keyboard with a left and right. It means that the person presenting doesn't have to grab the keyboard or mouse for it to progress."
Editing on-demand video content
Aim to edit for brevity and provide an engaging viewers with these professional guidelines:
7. Edit ruthlessly
8. Include B-roll video content to ensure maximum participation
One method to break through boredom of talking-head video is to change between cameras at a regular pace.
You can also incorporate graphics, animations slide, stock footage, or custom recordings for an immersive learning experience.
9. Interactivity layer that is layered
- Enjoy a build-your-own-learning path
- Hit the video hotspots below to dig into more learning sources
- Jump between sections most relevant to them (useful to create in-house videos onboarding)
Interactive videos boost viewer participation, resulting in better retention. You can also check your students' skills by conducting video quizzes through Interactive.
Ready to design your online course?
Designing a video course you love by your viewers is as simple as:
- Be specific with regards to the issue that you are trying to fix
- Converting the information into a cohesive story
- Organizing the content so it's straightforward to understand and follow
Also, don't forget to use the right tools can alleviate the strain of filming high-quality courses that provide an engaging learning experience.