Bold Content What You Need To Know About eLearning Videos

We have recently completed two eLearning courses, one for Tetley about how to make the perfect cuppa and another for Trafalgar, designed to inform travel agents about the benefits of their services. It has been a fascinating experience to see how two contrasting styles can be used to communicate powerfully.

The Trafalgar video uses a conversation between two people to convey the information in a relaxed and authentic manner. Two women are having a chat over coffee and one is describing her holiday experience, all the while underlining the unique selling points of the Trafalgar experience.

The Tetley video uses a presenter led approach to deliver the information. In this instance the presenter is Tetley’s Master Blender, which adds the necessary element of authenticity. We have a genuine expert delivering interesting information in bite-size palatable chunks.

Both approaches are useful for different types of e-learning material and both have their relative merits in engaging an audience. We thought it would be a good time to delve into the world of eLearning to see how the industry is evolving.

Our Production Coordinator Dylan Rees explores:

When used correctly E learning videos can be one of the most powerful communications tools available. Gone are the days where E learning consisted of a recorded Power Point presentations and multiple choices questions. Now the format is infinitely flexible and adaptable, you can cover any type of subject and cater for specific needs of the viewer.

Indeed video is the perfect tool for teaching, its is estimated that by 2018 84% of the internet will be video content. You only have to search “How to…” on youtube and some 365,000,000 results appear. Proof, if necessary, that video is amongst the most popular methods used by the public to gain new skills and information.

It is currently estimated that 33.5% of all corporate training is done via online video content. Furthermore using online training instead of in person training can save companies up to 50% of normal training expenditure.

E-learning videos are a great way to teach people soft skills or behavioral skills, without drilling the company etiquette into them, they can simply observe the way people behave in the video. In fact they are the perfect format to present a visual representation of workplace scenarios and demonstrations. While text books and screens that have continuous text can be daunting and monotonous, e-learning videos can be viewed and reviewed in accordance to the viewers learning capabilities.

The Format

Ideally an eLearning video should be under 10 minutes, for a more detailed subject consider splitting the video into more palatable sections. High quality presentations will have more impact and focus the attention.

There are a number of different types of E Learning videos.

Communication – a standard talking heads video with additional material inter cut, to help communicate the point.

Motivational – one of the most varied formats, this could be anything form a few words from a CEO, a lecture from a motivational speaker or something more humorous from an entertainer. It’s main objective however, is a call to action, to encourage the viewer to respond accordingly.

Knowledge or awareness – a way to present information in the most palatable way possible for retention by the viewer. There is no intention to change behavioral patterns or provide a new skill for the viewer.

Hard skills – these teach viewers a new task, they must not only retain the information but a change in behavioral and skill set must occur upon completion of the video.

Soft Skills – this video aims to inform the viewers behavioral patterns, presenting learning simulations . Often they deliver scenarios in first or third person to help inform the viewers of a likely situation they will be placed in and look at the behavioral options.

The benefits of E learning videos seem obvious, they are cost effective, flexible and when done right can deliver information effectively to the user. While nobody is denying that personal interaction doesn’t have some benefits within training, companies still locking their employees in the boardroom and boring them with slide show after slide show, would do well to step out of their comfort zone and try adapting the method, to see how their employees respond.