Visual learning – Videos in training

There was a time when old and timeless photos and videos from the past were treasured as a memory because of their rear significance. However, in this era of technology and innovation, visual aids are found everywhere and thanks to smartphones, every other person living on this planet has acquired the skill of photography and videography. Saying that, pictures and videos are uploaded in huge numbers every day on social media; let alone each day, 95 million photos and videos are uploaded on Instagram, the total number of hours of video watched on YouTube each month amounts to 3.25 billion, of which more than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices.

 

The visual aid in training can contribute to increase the engagement level of learners, encourage collaboration, boost motivation and it is far more interesting than words on a piece of paper. For example, safety instruction cards on an airplane with plain text will hardly be picked up by any passenger, but throw a few images to support the text and that same information will increase the efficiency of the safety information card.


So what about applying video to a more professional setting, specifically to the task of training? Using visual learning to promote a company’s mission, values, products, overall operations or to develop the learning culture, videos can have a huge impact on information retention. If you are a learning professional and part of an organisation that has not fully acknowledged the importance and power of the visual aid, then you might consider taking advantage of this technology to increase the effectiveness of your training.


So how can videos be more useful and impactful if used for training and learning purposes? Let’s breakdown this information:


Visual appeal

What is more interesting to you? Reading pages of the instructional manual or watching a video which addresses the same information? Without a doubt, it will be more effective for a viewer to watch a video of a process that can provide you with visual examples rather than going through pages. Video is a great media to show our learners how to do something and how things work. When your content is limited to textual documents, most often it becomes harder to provide visual examples which often leads to misinterpretations.


Visual is on demand

Most companies have their employees working across the globe, therefore at times, it can be challenging to update information or provide training for geographically dispersed workforces. In such scenarios, videos can really fill that void. Videos made available on an LMS, or corporate social media tool like Microsoft Yammer, allow for anyone, anytime, anywhere learning. Videos help to bridge language barriers thanks to their visual nature and because subtitles in multiple languages allow to address your international workforce to digest the learning content in the language they understand best.


Video library

If you are a part of an organisation that is serious about learning, then integrating videos in training modules is the first thing you will think of. However, with that comes the thought of video libraries or platforms. Start creating videos for your training modules and have them available for your learners on the video platforms. This way, your learners will efficiently access information anytime, anywhere at their preferred pace. As already mentioned, half of all Youtube views come from mobile devices. Most corporate video platforms allow its users to get access on mobile devices. Therefore, such platforms allow organizations to communicate with their employees via a device used by the majority of people even outside work.


Videos are secure

Some of the available video platforms allow you to place privacy and security controls on each video clip, and allow you to set unique passwords that viewers must enter before they are given access. If you are not too concerned with security, but genuinely interested in who is watching your videos, these video platforms will allow you to track your viewer information as well.


So, the bottom line is that videos are efficient, convenient and productive when used in training. Video provides an opportunity to give everyone the ability to learn and review important training material, thus increasing their ability to function in a professional environment. When viewed in this context, there’s absolutely no reason why videos shouldn’t be a part of your training efforts.


So, start recording.

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