Bridging Gaps in Video Education

Panopto, along with College Pulse conducted a study in 2024 from over 1,500 different colleges and universities that provided meaningful data and additional context to what students value on video learning. TechSmith’s study surveyed nearly 1,000 participants from various industries on what they actually want from instructional and informational videos and provides needed context on how to keep viewers engaged and for longer. This article draws from both studies, highlighting key takeaways and information to improve video use and access in courses.

First off, let's take a look at what students are looking for in their courses. As we will touch upon later, the rise of “chunking” in classes hasn’t completely gone away, but it isn’t as sought after as before. Shorter videos are still desired, but other aspects of videos are seemingly just as important.

01 Flexibility is a main priority

Another way to look at flexibility is sustainability. Sustainability is increasingly important for instructors, and their institution. It has the potential to provide instructors with more time to focus on things that matter: student support, creating content, and grading. In relation, video lectures provide students with the flexibility they need to access what content they want and when they want it. Eighty five percent (85%) of students say video technology enhances learning and on-demand video learning provides more flexibility than non-video alternatives (83%). Majority of students find that learning with video enables them additional flexibility to learn at their own pace (64%), and also provides them with the option to rewatch content at their leisure (60%). While almost half of the students surveyed find that videos reduce the pressure of keeping up with classroom pace, reducing stress and allowing them to focus on what is being taught (48%).

02 High demand for on-demand

Among many of the benefits of video, on-demand video provides students to learn at their own pace, an aspect that 64% of students polled mentioned as the biggest advantage. In addition, over 66% of students prefer enrolling in courses that contain videos for learning purposes; recorded lectures, supplemental materials, etc. While there are many benefits to video, merely 21% of students report that recorded course lectures are available for all their classes.

03: There is no “right” video length

For informational and instructional videos there is little variance on what is preferred. At some point you’ve probably been told that shorter videos are better, think 2-5 minutes long. In TechSmith’s study, that assumption is a bit murkier. We see both 5-6 minute videos (17%) and 10-19 minute videos (26%) being preferred by 43% of respondents. There are some that prefer slightly longer at 20-39 minutes (15%), or shorter, 3-4 minutes (13%). 

If your video is an instructional video where the learner was trying to learn a new skill, the majority find longer videos around an hour preferred, while if the learner was trying to find out some information about a specific topic, shorter videos were overwhelmingly preferred. All of this suggests that there is no single correct answer for the ideal video length—it should be as long as necessary to effectively achieve the learning goal.

04: Video Clarity, Up-to-Date Content, and Engaging Speakers Drive Learner Engagement

There are many things around to distract us, so it’s important to recognize what elements in a video keep people engaged. Video clarity, current content, and an engaging and knowledgeable speaker are far and away the most to keep learners engaged in informational videos.

Here are some aspects of videos that tend to make people navigate away from them:

1. Monotone speech: keep your normal speaking pace, but add some enthusiasm! Your video serves two purposes, to educate and also inform 
2. Content efficiency: know your audience. Solutions can come in various ways, find one that works for your audience and get to that point quickly.
3. Video length: while 10-19 minutes were preferred by most of the respondents, longer is not always better. Do what is best for your content. Make it just long enough to get the point across. Try creating videos of various lengths and ask for student feedback. 

05: Accessibility in Videos is No Longer Optional – It’s a Must!

Features such as captions or subtitles, playback control speed controls, and transcripts are just a few ways to make instructor videos immediately more accessible and more aligned with ADA guidelines. As of 2020, more than 21% of college students reported a disability. This number has doubled since the previous decade (GAO). Captions or subtitles, playback speed controls and transcripts on videos are highly three accessible features most desired by students. It’s increasingly important to include them in courses.