Video Courses
Jan 03, 2018
By
Rob Swanson
Hello all. I'd appreciate some feedback. I've been spending time on Lynda.com and Masterclass.com, both of which are video courses, or people on screen lecturing in a conversational style.
As a proponent of linear learning, where context is presented usually with a narrator and static character (we've used animated puppets, but I found them distracting), followed by either example or interaction.
The question: Would video of a "teacher" relating the context be more effective than the characters? Would it be less effective, or no difference?
This is for hardware and software product training.
1 Reply
There are many different ways to do software and hardware training that don’t involve a presenter, but if you want to go this route, the training can benefit from having a great human presenter who really knows their stuff.
The video should be high quality and tightly scripted so there is not a lot of wasted time while the presenter fumbles around. It also helps if the person has an engaging personality.
I use animated charters for a lot of stuff but try not to use them unless there is an intentional purpose for doing so. For example, it might be effective to use an animated character as a presenter for training on how to use graphics software, but might not work as well if you are doing training on spreadsheets.
Whichever way you go, the scripting should reflect the type of presenter you are using. if you use an animated character, the language should be informal and fun. If using a real person, the language can be more formal but it is best when the speaker is natural.
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