eLearning problems; eLearning solutions

This blog post is written in collaboration with Kyle, Instructional Media Support.

Last Fall, Kyle and I tested five different instructional technology tools, and we have been eager to use these technologies to assist with eLearning team projects. In January, Tara, Lead Instructional Designer and assistant professor at Spring Arbor University (SAU), asked for help clarifying expectations for a major group presentation assignment in her History 221: Black Experience in America course. She needed to communicate the links between the expectations outlined in the syllabus and rubric to a sample presentation provided to students. With these requirements in mind, we chose OBS Studio to best support Tara and her students.

A new year brings new opportunities. These new opportunities provide us with second chances to start over or to circle back to projects we did not complete or habits we did not adopt or refine the year before. However, a new year also brings encounters with change. Some changes we are prepared for while others come out of left field and knock the wind out of us. Greek philosopher Heraclitus is attributed with the saying, “The only constant in life is change.” Change is ever present in eLearning and instructional design. In our first blogpost of the year, we’ll start by exploring upcoming trends in eLearning and instructional design and how we can embrace change.

Many components of higher education remain consistent through time; however, some changes  have occurred to how the material gets presented and delivered, which have now altered the way people understand learning in this context. One change in the learning experience has been the increase in options for the length of a course. 

You’ve recorded your lecture or instructional video, and now you need to edit it into something you can share with your students. With the complex elements and tools involved, the process to convert a simple recording into a full-fledged video can seem intimidating or daunting. While the technical side of editing can be very complicated, it’s a very simple and straightforward process.

Today, I’m going to walk you through the basics of video editing. Whether you’re learning editing for yourself or just interested in understanding the process, this post will give you an overview some of the elements of video editing basics. I’ll use Adobe Premiere Pro as our example, but video editing software like Camtasia, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve have similar features. So, without any further ado, let’s begin!

We’ve all done it. A new tool gets introduced, and we find several ways it can be applicable to the lessons we teach all in the pursuit of making sure the ways we present information to our students are relevant, interesting, efficient, and current. But is this actually helpful? Do our students get a better experience when we introduce the latest programs, software, and technologies?