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5 Benefits of choosing the video format for your online course

Since the emergence of the motion picture, people have been attracted by the story that unfolds before their eyes. It captured their attention and remained as a permanent mark in their memory.

This innovative way of sending information has gone through multiple changes and enhancements throughout the years, reaching the digital age in a highly engaging and entertaining format.

Moreover, with worldwide connectivity came increased accessibility and a considerable preference for video content. Studies show that people spend more time on a web page if it includes video content compared to a page exclusively filled with written text.

Thus, as a knowledge entrepreneur, you cannot overlook this alternative when trying to get your course across to your audience and deliver relevant content.


Read more: Considering video as a marketing tool for your online course


5 Benefits of choosing the video format for your online course

Scientifically speaking, people process visual information faster and better because the human brain is fine-tuned to process information visually and to remember facts.

This being said, online course creators should consider all the benefits of video courses. Here are the ones that stand out and bring value to your course:

  1. Improved retention

    Research shows that people remember content up to 95% percent if it's delivered through video format. The information perceived with the help of videos goes straight to the brain’s long-term memory and stays there for much more time than information retained in any other way.

    The information learners receive is processed faster through videos, which increases their motivation to learn, maintaining their focus and retention throughout their entire learning experience. In addition, learners can revisit the content, pause and rewind as they please to satisfy their personal needs in the learning process.

  2. Better engagement

    Online learning can become impersonal sometimes, and this can interfere with people's ability to reach wanted learning outcomes. Videos, though, are a mixture of content and emotions that facilitate a more personal interaction with the knowledge they provide, establishing the grounds for better engagement and, inadvertently, increased achievement levels.

    Through the presence of the human component in teaching with videos, learners receive cognitive and social support, getting them actively involved in learning. This also comes with increased motivation and achievement levels.

  3. Versatile format

    Delivering your online content through videos will make it accessible and addressable to all types of learners. While the written course also offers learners knowledge at their fingertips, not everyone enjoys reading the information, nor are they all able to untangle its multiple facets.

    Courses can provide a whole range of materials or a variety of formats for the same information. When you choose to integrate videos in your course, you shouldn't limit your content to this format.

    Videos are engaging and entertaining, but when learning, people need to revisit them repeatedly. Since online courses target a prevalent adult audience, learners may not have the required time to watch a video more than once. In this case, taking out the audio for them to listen on the go will add variety to their learning process. What's more, the video can be accompanied by its transcription allowing learners to focus on specific aspects of the lessons.


    Read more: How knowledge entrepreneurs design accessible e-learning content


  4. Measurable impact

    With the tools that the internet has to offer, one can see if the video was opened by learners, how much time they spent watching it or skipping some parts. If you choose YouTube as a platform to provide your video content, you can go to the analytics section and find out all the details you want.


    Read more: 6 Best practices on how to get a large YouTube audience


    Also, now you can create interactive videos that make learning even more engaging by asking learners to click on options, answer a pop-up question, and many more. This allows you to see who is interacting with the video and how invested someone is in the course.

  5. Enhanced conceptualization

    Videos mimic real-life, face-to-face instruction because they facilitate the teaching process. You can explain a concept, demonstrate a procedure, or show an experiment through video, and this makes the learning experience more straightforward and the content easier to grasp.

    Using videos comes in handy when abstract concepts are being taught as well. Watching someone perform a process makes people learn easier and faster. Also, given the possibility of contextualization, they manage to connect the visual input with its practical application.

Wrapping up

Online course creators have new paths available to reach learners, and video content is one of them. A video is knowledge made accessible and visible. It facilitates learning by offering an interactive experience, and it increases engagement by involving the human presence.

This affective component is what improves retention while it builds trust in the delivered content, and it generates confidence in the input knowledge provider has to offer.

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