Video in the elearning Industry?

[Adobe_Captivate_Trainer]

Hi all, 

I'm a full-time elearning/Captivate developer and am branching out into video elearning outside of work.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on video and elearning, and if you think the industry as a whole is heading this way. So you know what I'm thinking of,  an example could be like Lynda.com and Plurasight etc but with a fresh and more engaging modern feel. I want to provide a video service that specialises in elearning for training providers or even individual businesses.

This post isn't for a sales or deceptive reason, I'm just really interested to hear thoughts from those of you in the industry as well. I work in the UK's Ministry of Defense side of elearning, and we're limited to a very strict style, and want to use this as a way to tap into my passion for video and more creative style of elearning.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

Luke

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

I completely agree with your initial thoughts. Take a look at Adobe Presenter Video Express. While the Adobe Captivate Video Demo feature has been the staple of my YouTube channel since it's inception, I have recently switched to PVX because it reduces my development time by 50%.

Sure there are some things It doesn't do but in this world of rapid development and getting content out there quickly, spending hours upon hours for minutes of content is no longer acceptable. Besides my videos are not my full-time job. I can't have it consuming the majority of my day.

[StevePixel]

Hey Luke, 

I'm a big fan of video for e-learning, but you need to define what you mean by video, as its a pretty big subject.  Are you referring to software training like Paul mentioned, or more soft-skills training like HR topics, or a hybrid of both?

Your niche will determine the amount of resources and skillsets you will require. For example creating software walk-throughs are the least resource intense, but if you want on-screen spokespeople, green screen and scripted scenarios, the level of resources required to do it at a professional level rises exponentially. Also, creating animations, simulations and high impact launch videos are are a whole other level skillset.

So when you say video, what exactly did you have in mind?  

Cheers 
Steve 

[Adobe_Captivate_Trainer]

Hi Steve, 

Thanks for replying.

My background is in video/film production and would like to provide elearning courses with a mix of screen recording videos and have presenters in the videos as well. I used to work in the film and video business, so have the knowledge of how it all works with green screens and editing etc, and would love to put it into elearning. I've seen a number of companies who have videos with presenters, which they use to teach different subjects, as well as traditional elearning.

I'm just trying to find out what niches/industries are a good place to start when going freelance with elearning and have the need for it. 

Thanks again

Luke

[Lilybiri]

Contrary to the others, I am not at all sure about  video being an excellent eLearning tool. This opinion is personal of course, but based on many years of experiences and experiments in teaching (university college). In those years I have been offering all type of learning assets, for classroom students as well as what we called 'distant-learning' students. I know that in USA teachers are not estimated the same way as in Europe. Captivate was for me THE discovery because it offered a lot of possibilities to make the assets interactive, something what is totally lacking in video assets. As a daily user of Lynda.com, I watch videos a lot, don't misunderstand me. Video is great for small step-by-step work flows, if you just need that work flow. They are great as extra assets combined with other assets like interactive tutorials where branching based on user's decisions play an important role. Audio is very important in any type of eLearning asset, something I did learn from my students. I remember their reactions very well, when I took regularly polls about their preferences: self-tests, interactive tutorials were largely preferred over passive video/demo. And for in-depth exploring they loved interactive pdf's (now I would create ePubs) where interactive tutorials and video were combined with well structured text.

I am also wondering why you would use Captivate if your goal is to create video? Why not use a dedicated video app? I switch to Audition for audio clips, to Photoshop or Illustrator for graphical assets, for small video editing to Photoshop, for bigger video to Premiere Pro, for animations to Animate CC or to After Affects. Why Captivate for video? Just for software capture?

[Adobe_Captivate_Trainer]

Hi Lilybiri, 

Thank you for replying to this, have only just seen your response.

Those are some really interesting ideas. Especially the interactive PDF. I've never made one of those, so will have to look at that. 

I agree with you, Paul and Steve now about video being good for step-by-step workflows, rather than a full video elearning. It does need to be interactive and also fun for the learners.

 Thanks everyone .

Luke

[Adobe_Captivate_Trainer]

Hi Paul, 

Thanks for replying. 

That will be really helpful for doing tutorial and recordings in Captivate. I'm looking at both this type of video work and having a studio with presenters in my elearning as well for clients, so will be great to mix them together.

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

Adobe Presenter Video Express has the ability to also include question slides that can include remediation. For example, if the user gets the question correct you can navigate them to a place in the video where you say "Congratulations, you got it right. Now let's proceed with the course." or if they are having trouble with the concept you can navigate them to a place where you say "Looks like you're having trouble. Let's review this material some more."

I think many sell this software short and don't realize it's full potential for learning.