Twelve tips for reducing production time and increasing long-term usability of instructional video

Abstract

The use of instructional video is increasing across all disciplines and levels of education. Although video has a number of distinct advantages for course delivery and student learning, it can also be time-consuming and resource-intensive to produce, which imposes a burden on busy faculty. With video poised to play a larger role in medical education, we need strategies for streamlining video production and ensuring that the video we produce is of lasting value. This article draws on learning research and best practices in educational technology, along with the author’s experience in online education and video production. It offers 12 practical tips for reducing the initial time investment in video production and creating video that can be reused long into the future. These tips can help faculty and departments create high-quality instructional video while using their time and resources more wisely.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Drs. Wishwa Kapoor, Doris Rubio, and Colleen Mayowski for their support and Natalie Vazquez for her collaboration on many video projects.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Marie Kamala Norman, PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Innovative Design for Education and Assessment (IDEA) Lab at the Institute for Clinical Research Education in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. She is coauthor of the book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (Ambrose et al. 2010).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health [UL1TR001857]. The content is solely the responsibility of the author’s and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.