You’ve already been bombarded with how-to videos on your social media feeds, haven’t you? Short, appealing videos showing how to cook mouthwatering dishes in no time. Or DYI videos with hacks you never thought existed.
But although these videos have an underlying marketing purpose, we’ll discuss something else today. Our point of view on this kind of content will be educational—why and how you can use video to teach.
You’ll learn why eLearning relies on video-based learning strategies. And we’ll explain how an effective video eLearning strategy supported the global expansion of an educational brand.
Why Video?
As consumers, we feel attracted to video ads. And there’s even a marketing discipline dedicated to exploring this: video marketing.
But our passion for video crosses the borders of advertising and enters the corporate environment. In 2021, a study revealed that employees feel more positive about receiving video emails than text emails in their corporate inboxes. Additionally, the text emails made them experience anxiety, a negative feeling.
On top of that, take the example of a traditional lecture. This form of conventional instructor-led training lacks the interactivity of an eLearning course. It doesn’t rely on modern, advanced eLearning technology and methods either. For instance, it doesn’t tailor the learning experience to the learner as adaptive learning does.
Plus, video is a pillar of instructional design for many reasons, such as knowledge retention. It also engages multiple senses in learners. And there’s no effective video eLearning without retention or engagement.
Often, the success of corporate learning experiences lies in the power of video-based microlearning. An example of a kind of training that uses video-based learning and microlearning is customer training.
Check out our microlearning strategy examples!
Benefits of Video-Based Learning
Let’s see what makes a video eLearning strategy effective.
Comprehension
Some training programs fail to generate the desired learning outcomes when they don’t include video content. And here’s why: Video-based learning enhances the comprehension of ideas and concepts.
Audiovisual elements help learners visualize concepts that are
- Either hard to describe with words or voice alone
- Or exist in the three-dimensional space, making it more sense to show them from multiple visual perspectives within their surroundings
Retention
Adopting a video eLearning strategy will make your employees learn more. Cisco reported that learners grow 32% more high-order skills through interactive multimedia resources.
That percentage drops to 12% with traditional learning, compromising the learning process and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. And without these skills, learners cannot understand or process complex information, much less go one step further and innovate.
Video-based learning also relies on our senses to maximize the knowledge we retain. That’s because learning from text, audio, and images—rather than each one individually—is more effective. And the more senses we engage during the learning process, the more knowledge we retain.
Engagement
Besides multimedia, there’s another aspect that boosts learner engagement—dynamics. Video breaks up the monotony of traditional informative content. This means no more reading extensive blocks of texts or listening to long audio explanations.
And if that doesn’t excite you enough, video-based learning can reduce the duration of your training programs. After all, you can demonstrate a skill much faster than narrating it. And your employees will learn it even faster than you demonstrate.
Learning Styles
Research pointed out that 65% of us are visual learners. In other words, most of your staff learns best from visual representations of ideas and concepts.
And if video enables you to help your workforce learn better, don’t hesitate! Use it in your training programs.
Training ROI
There’s nothing more effective to demonstrate a skill or new knowledge than video. Because when you show as well as tell your employees a new technique or procedure, they’ll understand it better.
And if they understand it better, they’ll apply what they learned to their work, which is good news. Because all in all, that’s what you’re looking for—a high training ROI.
Autonomy
When taking instructor-led courses, learners spend time with the instructor. Then, when they complete a course, learners are on their own.
But what if they didn’t retain all the information they needed? What if they need to revisit the lessons they took with the instructor to revive their memory?
Well, with video-based learning, that’s not an issue. It gives learners on-demand access to information if they completely failed to retain it before.
Whether you design a video course or an online knowledge base made entirely of videos, you’ll enable employees to rewatch videos. Consequently, you’ll allow them to refresh their knowledge and understand concepts they didn’t understand via the instructor.
Examples of Video-Based Learning
Compliance training: For instance, delivering workplace harassment training effectively is almost impossible without exemplifying body language. And body language—with all its nuances—is hard to put clearly into words. Video is a far better option to show facial expressions and give learners a precise impression of the environment you’re discussing.
Sales training: You can tell your sales reps how to use a particular sales technique. But it won’t stick to their minds, and they won’t remember it later until you demonstrate to them how someone does it. So, whenever you’re teaching your employees a new behavior—how to act and respond—use video.
When Not to Use Video in Corporate Training
Teaching certain knowledge or skills calls for discussions, Q&A sessions, and debates. Also, certain learner audiences require the same level of interaction.
This means that sometimes, instructor-led training—either virtual or in-person—is the most suitable choice. But it doesn’t mean you have to discard video-based learning altogether.
Instead, offer video content to your employees as a pre- or post-course resource. For instance, a three-minute video might introduce the course to your staff members and engage them. Similarly, a post-course video can wrap up the concepts, techniques, or procedures they just learned.
TED Talks: How to Implement an Effective Video eLearning Strategy
The brain loves videos because they’re quick and easy to process. But including video in a training program doesn’t necessarily make it successful.
Unless you implement an effective video eLearning strategy, you won’t benefit from the perks of video in training. Let’s see how to do it and use TED as a starting point—a great starting point.
Short Story of TED Talks
TED evolved from a one-off conference in 1984 to the learning powerhouse it is today. It’s a viral, global phenomenon, spreading knowledge through short, highly-engaging videos—TED Talks.
And those talks have been helping instructional designers develop video-based learning solutions. TED Talks are reusable training resources that are extremely easy to absorb and available for free.
Addressing Limitations of Video-Based Learning
TED Talks revolutionized the way we share ideas and information. But that doesn’t mean they’re the perfect form of video-based learning.
Here’s how to overcome the limitations of TED Talks in what concerns video education:
Facilitate Absorption
Many TED Talk speakers don’t cite the authors that support their conclusions. And the speed at which we absorb the knowledge that speakers share with us is their own speaking speed.
That makes it hard for slower learners to understand new knowledge. And not every learner must be a fast learner!
Solution: Use timestamps in the description of videos to cite sources accurately and improve learning.
Add Context
The way a thought leadership speaker and a corporate instructor present knowledge is different. And this is why: They’re teaching different audiences and have different purposes.
So, to include a TED Talk in a corporate training program, you must create a context first. That’s how you’ll help your employees apply what they learn from the talk. And that’s also how you’ll highlight the video’s purpose, so your staff will understand its usefulness and engage.
Solution: Add a pop-up that points to a scenario in which the knowledge from the video applies—for instance, when to use the technique or procedure.
Direct Learner Attention
Even if your video eLearning course is highly engaging, it’ll compete for your learners’ attention. They’ll divide their focus between your course and multiple screens, notifications, and other distractions.
Being realistic, you must find a way around your employees’ continuous partial attention during training. That’s a state in which their focus is on your course but also people and activity around them. And that multiple engagement happens because they’re afraid of missing out on something important.
Solution: Bring your staff’s attention to your eLearning videos on key moments with comments or illustrations on top of specific parts of the videos.
Enable Interaction
Let’s face it: Video-based learning lacks the interaction between instructor and learners, which encompasses two drawbacks.
- Some employees enjoy the discussion and debate that exist in classrooms
- Videos convey the message that the knowledge in them is final, allowing no discussion
Solution: Add comments on top of the videos to ask questions and for the viewers to pause and reflect on the message even when the video isn’t live.
Read more on how to design interactive eLearning in this blog post!
Video eLearning Is an Indispensable Tool
The tips we just gave you don’t just apply to TED Talks. They’re also useful for designing custom eLearning videos targeted at corporate training.Video-based learning is excellent for increasing learner engagement and knowledge retention. Connect with us and find out how to elevate your video eLearning strategy!
