Instructional videos often play an important role in online classes, establishing a sense of community, social and instructor presence. Instructors incorporate online video in a number of ways, including supplemental content, demonstrations, clarification of difficult material, introductions, grading and feedback, discussion, and student assignments. The articles below provide suggestions, best practices, and the use of data analytics and other research methods to study the effects of video on student engagement, learning, and satisfaction.
A taxonomy of asynchronous instructional video styles
Chorianopoulos, K. (2018). A taxonomy of asynchronous instructional video styles. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 19(1), 294-311.
Chorianopoulos reviewed and classified instructional videos, noting a widespread, limited understanding of possible formats. A taxonomy emerged from a literature review, examination of courses, and a view of varied disciplines. The results revealed a design space that allows both choice and a facilitated preparation of new video formats.
The video lecture
Crook, C., & Schofield, L. (2017). The video lecture. The Internet and Higher Education, 34, 56-64.
Researchers examined a representative sample to identify types of lectures in online courses and compared with traditional notions of lecturing. The article included a taxonomy of lecture designs and a discussion of implications for course designers. .
Lights, camera, action: Facilitating the design and production of effective instructional videos
Di Paolo, T., Wakefield, J. S., Mills, L. A., & Baker, L. (2017). Lights, camera, action: Facilitating the design and production of effective instructional videos. TechTrends, 61(5), 452-460.
Di Paolo et al. provided simple, useful guidelines for faculty creating their own instructional videos in this paper, with instructional design suggestions for such aspects as design, development, implementation, and reflection.
The Value of Video Communications in Education
Earon, S. A. (2017). The Value of Video Communications in Education. White paper.
Earon summarized practical advice on video, particularly the benefits of using Zoom: access to greater resources; flexible learning; global interchange; and equal opportunities Included were discussions of two-way A/V, webinars, accessibility, and other matters.
How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos
Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014, March). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. In Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning@ scale conference (pp. 41-50).
Data from 6.9 million MOOC video views were analyzed to understand viewing behavior of students. Major recommendations from the research suggest keeping videos to less than six minutes, and occasionally showing the instructor’s talking head to improve connection with the students.
The changing role of the educational video in higher distance education
Laaser, W., & Toloza, E. A. (2017). The changing role of the educational video in higher distance education. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 18(2), 264-276.
The article argues that the ongoing usage of audio visual media is falling behind in terms of educational quality compared to prior achievements in the history of distance education. The authors conclude that the "new" features are in no way disruptive innovations in distance education and that the potential of video has not been sufficiently exploited. Adequate incentives to use these media for collaborative learning have not been provided and student-generated video content is at present just starting to be considered useful in instructional design.
I can see you! Using videos in online courses to promote student engagement
Oberne, A. B. (2017). I can see you! Using videos in online courses to promote student engagement. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 6(1), 85-90. doi: 10.14434/jotlt.v6n1.20662
Oberne provided helpful suggestions to integrate video discussion posts from students in online classes in order to foster engagement, a sense of community, interaction with other students, and technical and oral communication skills.
Integrating video simulation scenarios into online nursing instruction
Stanley, M. J., Serratos, J., Matthew, W., Fernandez, D., & Dang, M. (2018). Integrating video simulation scenarios into online nursing instruction. Journal of Nursing Education, 57(4), 245-249.
Stanley et al. described the use of VoiceThread and video-recorded simulations in online nursing classes to provide scenarios that engage students, support instructional objectives, foster a sense of community, and promote active problem-solving and reflection.
Instructor presence in instructional video: Effects on visual attention, recall, satisfaction, and perceived learning
Wang, J., & Antonenko, P. D. (2017). Instructor presence in instructional video: Effects on visual attention, recall, satisfaction, and perceived learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 79-89.
The authors conducted a study and determined that instructor presence is vitally important in terms of attention, recall, satisfaction and perceived learning.
“Picturing them right in front of me”: Guidelines for implementing video communication in online and blended learning
West, R. E., Jay, J., Armstrong, M., & Borup, J. (2017). “Picturing them right in front of me”: Guidelines for implementing video communication in online and blended learning. TechTrends, 61(5), 461-469.
This article synthesizes the findings of many years of research on video use in asynchronous online courses. Research-based approaches to video use are discussed with many recommendations for instructors.
Instructor perspectives on comparative heatmap visualizations of student engagement with lecture video
Xia, J., & Wilson, D. C. (2018, February). Instructor perspectives on comparative heatmap visualizations of student engagement with lecture video. In Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Baltimore, MD.
Xia and Wilson employed data analytics to study student engagement with online video, linking it to performance and other measures, with student engagement mapping providing helpful feedback to instructors for their online videos.