VIDEO IS EVERYWHERE!

Thinking about picking up a video camera and shooting some content for your online courses or to show in your education programs? If so, you’re not alone.  

Video is a hot topic in the learning profession right now. It offers loads of benefits for learning professionals and organizations. Plus it is now very affordable to make. The latest technology makes it easier than ever to capture video that won’t embarrass you in front of your peers, learners, or clients.  

EVERYONE IS MAKING VIDEO

Of course, it’s not just in the learning profession where video is hot. Every minute, people from all over the world upload 72 hours of video to YouTube. Every month, people from all over the world watch 4 billion hours of YouTube video.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement that YouTube and other video-sharing sites have to offer.

NOT ALL VIDEO IS CREATED EQUAL

However, very few YouTube videos “go viral,” meaning that they are viewed by millions—or billions—of people all over the world. A lot of the video that’s made for YouTube is not very good. I guess we could say not all video is created equal.  

Unfortunately, the same goes for a lot of video created in organizations for training purposes. Clunky and unprofessional, poorly-made video can distract learners from the training content.

QUALITY HAS TO BE OUR GOAL

If we want to take advantage of all that video has to offer the learning industry, we have to make sure our video is of good quality.

By good quality, I mean content that is properly structured to aid learning. Video that employs techniques designed to enhance learning retention. Content that is shot well, is well lit, and properly edited.

Good-quality video will accomplish learning program objectives; poorly-made video will leave clients, peers, and learning executives wondering why they invested in video in the first place.

In coming posts, I’ll share some thoughts on how you can make quality video that gives you the greatest return on your investment of time, money, and resources. And I’ll give some fresh examples when I speak at ASTD’s International Conference & Exposition at the pre-conference Multimedia for Learning Professionals Certificate Program – May 17-18, 2013. Hope to see you there!