Effective Use of Video in Online Courses

Have you ever considered using video in your online classes?  Do you use video and want to learn how to improve what you're doing?  You may want to check out this free webinar on Thursday, 1/24 at 2pm entitled, "How to Make e-Learning More Effective with Video".

Using video can really help you enhance your classes, and Canvas has some great tools for bringing video into the online classroom.  Videos can range from recordings of you speaking to screen recordings that you narrate to demonstrate how to do something, such as creating formulas in Excel.  Short videos can make it easier for students to understand what they're learning because they're seeing an actual demonstration, not just reading about the material. Using a mix of video and text-based instructional materials can really make your course even better.

Another thing you can do with video is record and share live events from your face-to-face classroom. If you're looking to record in-class events, such as guest speakers, to share with an online section of your course, or for your students to reference after the event is over, you can record the event and place a link in your Canvas class.  The College now has the Tegrity lecture capture system to help you make your own recordings - in the classroom or at your desk. Tegrity's overview page for instructors gives some good information about what the system is capable of doing.  If you're interested in learning how to use Tegrity in your class, contact Justin LeTellier, Bay Path's Manager of New Media Services. And speaking of Tegrity, the ITS department is offering workshops on Tegrity on January 30 and 31.  Check out the IT Resources tab of the My Bay Path portal for details and to sign up.

If you can't make the webinar, but are interested in learning about best practices for video in online courses, this article gives some good tips. If you're looking to use video without creating your own content, there are lots of good resources available online and through Hatch Library's subscription to Films on Demand.