How Simple Video Editing Can Improve Recorded Lectures

It may feel daunting to rethink lectures for online courses, especially if you have a video already recorded, but there are tools, techniques, and support available to all LSA faculty to ease this transition.
by LSA Learning & Teaching Technology Consultants

When preparing asynchronous video lectures, it is tempting to lecture as one would in an in-person setting, recording an hour-long lecture with slides. For online, asynchronous classes, however, this approach can lower information retention and the effectiveness of instruction. We discussed the benefits of shorter video lectures in a previous teaching tip. It’s also a good idea to do an editing run over your video. This helps you a) see what your students will see and understand their experience and b) decide if there are any bits you want to trim out or even move around.

It may feel daunting to rethink lectures for online courses, especially if you have a video already recorded, but there are tools, techniques, and support available to all LSA faculty to ease this transition. The learning curve to use video editing tools is not steep - about a half hour to learn the basics - and they can dramatically improve the experience of students watching.

Two video editors of note are iMovie, which is available for free on any Apple laptop or tablet, and Adobe Premiere Pro, which is available for all University faculty, students, and staff (additional information about Adobe Creative Cloud). While there are differences between programs, the fundamentals remain the same. Segments of video can be trimmed, removed, replaced, or repositioned by cutting and pasting--much like editing a text document. This can reduce the length of lectures, help break up lectures into different videos, or allow the incorporation of other video sources, if you want to include a clip for students to watch. It can also reduce the stress of recording the lectures, as any long pauses can be removed. Lectures can be recorded at your own pace, or even in several pieces, and pasted together in the video editor. Knowing the lecture will be edited later, there is no pressure to perform the entire lecture in one take or inside the class’ scheduled time slot. 

There are tutorial videos available to get started using these tools on our Audio, Visual, and Design Tools page. Our Instructional Video staff is also available for more personalized training and consultation; please contact us at LSATSLearningTeachingConsultants@umich.edu to set up an appointment.

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Release Date: 06/11/2020
Category: Learning & Teaching Consulting; Teaching Tips
Tags: Technology Services