Videos have become the most effective way for us to view and digest new content and information. In schooling, work, and everything in-between, creating and sharing video content has become a large part of the culture and a mass contributing medium for social media.
Companies and instructional designers have begun creating their own video content as well, and with the global workforce as remote as it is today, users have been watching and engaging with mobile learning courses to upskill and learn on the job.
Statistically speaking, videos on YouTube alone are viewed at a billion hours every day. Vimeo videos have been viewed on average around 715 million times a month. The content that is being viewed isn’t just funny pet videos and celebrity interviews either. Other viral content includes cooking videos, music, biology, astronomy, history, and even DIY videos on topics such as “How to fix the Plumbing in your House”.
We turn to videos for a number of things including education, to binge the next big Netflix documentary, or to share a funny viral video with a friend. There is something about moving images that helps us both understand and convey ideas, so, whether they are being used to help viewers relax and unwind at the end of the day or help viewers gain a greater understanding when learning a new skill, video content has become a foundational medium for displaying concepts and teaching.
With all of that said, it is not at all surprising that video-based learning has now become the expected format for educational content to be delivered for training within the workplace.
In fact, surveys have shown that 95% of companies all around the world use video content to train their employees.
Why Do Learners Love Videos?
Have you noticed a difference in engagement between a PowerPoint presentation and a video? The stagnant display of information within Powerpoints tends to make learners switch off and disconnect, whereas videos have viewers focused on and retaining information at much higher rates.
To put it simply, video content is King, and to further expand on that point, here are 8 Reasons Why Video is a Must for Mobile Learning:
1) Familiar Format
2)More Interesting
3) Increased control over learning
4) Crisp and Succinct
5) Increased Learner Engagement
6) Enhanced Conceptualisation
7) Facilitate Teaching
8) Improved Retention
1) Familiar Format
The incredible success of TikTok, Youtube and Vimeo only reaffirm market validation and the fact that people are much more comfortable consuming content via video than reading or listening.
2) More Interesting
Video clips allow you to create a story and convey ideas to viewers in more interesting ways that will cater to their short attention spans. Resulting in more engaging learning processes and training material.
3) Increased Control Over Learning
When you have videos as a part of your mobile learning strategy, this allows your students to learn and go through the content at their own speed via their mobile device. Users can rewind, rewatch, pause, or fast forward when going over bite-sized pieces of content that they wish to gain a better understanding of. There are also studies that show that when users have control over their learning pace and direction, this helps motivate them to learn more effectively.
4) Crisp and Succinct
Videos can pack in a large amount of information into a short space of time. Also, having moving graphics and sounds engages multiple senses simultaneously, creating a better and more effective learning experience overall. A well-made video can also reduce cognitive overload by avoiding the confusion and fatigue that often comes with text-heavy slides. A visual aid, especially in the form of video can often help users to greater digest and retain information on a subject.
5) Increased Learner Engagement
Videos increase viewer engagement of material by simply being a more pleasing and engaging format, to begin with. Users are naturally drawn to the moving pictures and visual elements, as well as empathise with the stories that are portrayed on the screen. Videos bring content to life for the viewers in the real world and in doing so, create a better experience overall, even via small screens (mobile). This increases learner engagement and helps them greater retain content and achieve the learning objectives.
6) Enhanced Conceptualisation
High-quality videos have a way of transporting an audience to where the content is happening. If a story is being told, a video will take the viewers to view from the side of the protagonist. If the video is meant to teach something, the video will place the learner where the teaching is taking place, almost allowing them to be a part of the experience.
7) Facilitate Teaching
When teaching complex lessons or technical content, it is difficult to effectively break down through text alone. Having blended learning options such as learning videos that provide an audio and visual format allows you to demonstrate technical concepts like components of machines and the workings of a complex system or a network. This allows for thorough training and development and leaves no room for ambiguity.
8) Improved Retention
When users are trained and learning content from video, they apply knowledge so much more so than text only. What is more interesting is that this effect increases and magnifies over time. Studies have shown that when text is combined with videos, it is up to nine times more effective than text-only if learners are tested directly after they have viewed the content. If your learners are tested sometime later, then the effectiveness still is 83% higher than if they learned by text only.
The Biggest Reason to Embrace Video in eLearning: Going Mobile
Most management that has been developing workplace learner programs have begun pivoting and investing in mobile-friendly learning and developing company-specific training mobile apps for their employees. Since the accessibility of video sharing & training content has been on the rise, it is also ideal for mobile learning.
Modern employees have more mobility and work remote more often, and mobile learning allows for better connectivity and adaptability to any smart device and gives the user easily accessible courses around the clock.
Statistics have shown that according to Training Evolution, 74.4% of organizations will be formatting the majority of their training and learning programs into mobile formatting in the next 2 years with video production being at the forefront of that.
Hopefully, by now, we have convinced you that your students and employees prefer video!
Creating your own video content does not have to be too complex of a process, and there are quite a few video editing apps that will allow you to create great content for your viewers. You can even begin with your smartphone, and begin creating content. From there you can import the raw footage into the video editing app and make it look professional. Then you can import your video content into youtube, and then straight into your custom Archy Learning pathway!
