ELearning/Course building/Animated lectures and presentations
Syllabus and module guides | Video production | Storyboarding and scripting | Animated lectures and presentations | Programmed interactions
by Kevin Wilcoxon
I've long been an advocate of combining audio, animation, and questioning when presenting content. Of course, it's work so you want to use this method with enduring content.
Tackle the audio first
Create the audio script and periodic comprehension and application checks. Don't forget to create answers for your questions. Include your ideas for the visual portion of the presentation, using a template helps you accomplish this. I use three columns: Screen number, Media/Comments, and Narrative. This document will serve two purposes: control document, and the text version of your presentation. Read the script aloud, ask others to do the same or listen to you. Edit to make the script tight, clear, and alive. Insert specific instructions for the narrator, though sparingly.
Create and edit the audio. I ask a voice actor to read the script while I listen and call for redos on the spot. I ask the narrator to rehearse the script at least twice, going over pronunciation, strategic pauses, etc. A common problem for non-professional narrators is beginning strong and gradually trailing off until they're difficult to hear. They may also talk too fast or too slow, likely both in the same session. Be sure to coach on these issues, and call for a redo when they stray. When multiple sessions are necessary, you want to be sure to use the same recording settings, physical setting (acoustics), and positioning the microphone. Editing audio using the voiceprint is surprisingly easy. Pregnant pauses, too brief pauses, mistakes and the like are easy to add and delete. Just be sure to add silence between takes and sections. Normalizing the volume and other fixes can be accomplished after the fact, but they're no substitute for a well-done initial recording. Editing is also an iterative process; once through is not enough.
See Voiceover tips for eLearning by eLearning Brothers for specific guidance: Part 1 Part 2
Produce the visuals
With a strong audio narration in place, it's time to produce the visual portion of your presentation.
Prepare the graphical elements you know you will use, but don't plan everything out. Even when you do, you will come up with some better, more fitting elements during the building process.
With attention and focus, the visual system is dominant for most of us. You've prepared an excellent audio presentation, so you need a visual production to match. A sea of bullet points just won't do. The key to visual attention is change, and the screen needs to change on a regular basis. As much as possible, you want to create a visual narrative that aids attention and reinforces the audio. This is especially true for younger generations, but applicable to all. Pictorial representations, including mental models and animations are best, but when the narrative content is not amenable to visual representation, you still need regular variation. Techniques include highlighting or recoloring portions of a still image or graph as they're addressed in the narrative, using progressive disclosure with bulleted lists, shifting placement on the screen as new elements are introduced, using quick but obvious transitions, and . . .
Placing comprehension or application questions at semi-regular intervals. Knowing that these are coming adds motivation for learners to pay attention. You're also promoting cognitive processing of the material - essential to learning. Depending on your available technology, your approach will vary. The simplest tactic is to phrase the question, pause, and then answer it. The simple act of asking the question compels listeners to search their minds and primes their attention for the answer. If technology allows, you can pause the action for input from the learner, and follow with the answer, as mentioned, with a written answer, and/or a suggestion to review the material accompanied by a button to return them to the appropriate spot in the presentation. Captivate and Storyboard allow for these options.
One last thing. Keep your presentations short; about five to seven minutes and no longer than 15 - ever. Internet users have shorter attention spans - that means all of us. Longer expositions need to be divided into digestible chunks. This provides for the flexibility we're all after, and it encourages learners to revisit portions of the whole.
Syllabus and module guides | Video production | Storyboarding and scripting | Animated lectures and presentations | Programmed interactions
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