Unique Video Integration Examples

[Ignition Media]

I've noticed that many eLearning presentations don't incorporate much video. My background is in video production, so I am interested to find examples of innovative ways that video is being used within computer-based training sessions.

I'm proud to have completed my first eLearning presentation, and it incorporates a good deal of video. An introduction and conclusion video were carefully sized and positioned through much trial-and-error so as to frame them in an interesting way behind a sliding garage door (based on a photograph of one of the client's buildings). There are also a couple of interactive "hazard scenarios" built entirely in PowerPoint. With the help of a green screen and a Flash video alpha channel, the instructor pops into the foreground at critical moments to chide or praise the learner in a memorable way.

http://ignitionmediainc.com/loto - eLearning Presentation Example

I find that videos often seem awkward and incongruous when placed within eLearning presentations, so I try to make my videos as tightly integrated as possible. I thought that this approach might be of interest to the community, and of course, being my first eLearning project, I'm always interested in receiving feedback.

Do you know of any other good ways that people are incorporating video into their presentations?

Thanks for your interest!

Andy

[Jeanette]

Hi Andy, and welcome to the Community Forums! That's a really nice course that you posted - thanks so much for sharing! I like your artful blend of both still shots and videos. Even on slides where you used only images, the course never dragged or felt static - the pace and timing were great. Really nice example.

Regarding your question about the use of videos in rapid e-learning, you might've already seen this, but the following post on the Word of Mouth blog has a great demo of a video-intensive course:
Knowledge Screen: How to Create Rapid Video Learning - Articulate – Word of Mouth Blog
(Mark from KnowledgeScreen posts here in the forums sometimes too, so he might be able to chime in on this thread too.)

Again, thanks for sharing your course with the community!

[this.onEnterFrame]

Very cool Andy! Has just the right touch of humor as well.
I also like the sound effects on slide 13.
If I was going to change anything...
Did you try changing the player colors to match your ppt theme?
You might want to turn off the progress bar. Some of the slides are very short and its distracting (for me) when the bar zooms by.
But I am easily distr..... huh?

[slhice]

Hi Andy. Great transitions and motion - it's that level of detail that makes an elearning course interesting and polished. I also like to combination of auto navigation with opportunities to click areas of the screen and the play button to move ahead. The use of sound effects is great.

One of the folks who works with me also has a video background (post production special effects) and I can see similarity in techniques used. Check out this module Province of British Columbia (then click on Education Module).

Regarding your module, I loved i! The timing, animations, transitions all look smooth and professional. Here are a couple of comments for you....

- I agree that the Articulate skin could be adjusted color-wise so that there subtler contrast between content and navigation.

- I noticed that I couldn't go backwards when I was in a quiz. I actually got stuck on a question (drag in the correct order) and because of this I couldn't go forward. I wanted to jump back to the slide that talked about the question topic, then answer the question, then move ahead. Instead I closed the course and missed the summary/conclusion sections. I would recommend allowing learners the ability to go backward (but not forward).

- I think it would be powerful to introduce the walk on (green screened video character) in actual video at the beginning of the module rather than a talking still. I'd also use this character do some other stuff like walk on and introduce each quiz and/or walk on a go through the navigation (pointing to areas on the screen). I think the use of video characters is great and particularly powerful when they are looking at you, gesturing toward you and talking directly to you (first person, conversational).

- This is more of a question then a comment - I noticed that when using the engage labelled graphic, I had to hit each of the items to proceed. This was fine but I went forard then ended up going back to the slide with the engage graphic and I had to hit all the items again. I wonder if there is a way for presenter/engage to know that you have already done this.

Stephanie

[DavidAnderson]

Thanks for sharing this. I know you're showcasing video in this thread and example but I wanted to comment on your good use of images and visual pacing. I liked how you used so many images to carry the story. So many times we see a single image summarize a slide or worse, group of slides. Great way to keep the course moving. I know it's more work to plan out the image shots and use that many images but it's worth it.

[mstemm1]

I just wanted to say that I am currently in the process of hiring a videographer intern to assist with creating video for a number of e-learning courses.

Many of the video items will be more "vignettes" of less than 60 seconds in length but some will be "how to" videos.

One of the things that I have done that has been effective (I am sorry I show a current example because of propriatary issues) has been to put a vignette in into a slide instead of a photograph.

They play with no sound during the PowerPoint Bullets, text or narration. They are small in size on the screen, like a photo, but they provide a little more life. One example that I used was a video of some of our employees shoveling snow. It was on the screen the entire time, as the slide was discussing the area that must be cleaned, and the size and the distance around a bus stop enclosure to be cleaned. These videos don't require any introduction. I would not want to use this method everywhere, or on evey slide, but it was very effective in our course that contained about 5 vignettes in 30 slides.

[turn&burn]

stephanies question about any way to show a participant that they have already viewed a button on a labeled graphic is a question that I have, too.

jean

[Ignition Media]

Someone just emailed me in reference to this post and I realized that I'd forgotten all about it! I think I posted this the night before I took a tropical vacation...the sand and sun must have erased it from my mind. I know it's almost a year old now but I just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback!

I recently completed the whole training system (there were 6 lessons total). If you want to see how it turned out you can check it out here:

Dem-Con Digital Training System

It uses a web-based menu system, and I added a neat tool at the end of each lesson that allows learners to print a certificate of completion. I did end up changing the color of the player to better match the content as some of you suggested I do.

I know most of you are still around so I'll respond to your comments, even though it's a year late:

this.onEnterFrame - I agree that it would be nice if there were a way to turn off the progress bar on a per-slide basis, but unfortunately, I don't think Articulate offers this. I wouldn't want to turn it off for the whole presentation, because that would prevent learners from reviewing or searching for content within a slide (presentations that don't allow this annoy me).

slhice - I wish Articulate had a way for learners to skip in and out of a required quiz as well. Same with getting stuck in an interaction or quiz you've already viewed. It's too bad Articulate can't remember that it's been completed and not trap you again.

Turn&Burn and Stephanie - As far as I know, the "Labeled Graphic" interaction does not include a way to show learners which items they have already viewed. This is especially problematic in interactions where a learner accidentally skips the introduction slide, because the only way to get back to it is using the little arrows at the top right and they have no idea what to do and get stuck. This is why I avoid using a conclusion slide on many of the interactions because it forces people to use those little arrows and they could easily get confused and stuck. It's too bad some of these interactions have such bad usability issues.

Thanks again for sharing your ideas, everyone!