Prepare Your Presentation
Design Your Video
Start planning your instructional video by picking one key topic, learning outcome, or goal. Then identify the most essential content to include. You might want to prioritize
- algorithmic content like how to solve for an equation;
- clear visual aids like maps or diagrams;
- examples and anecdotes that illustrate ideas or emphasize important points;
- and complicated concepts that students might want to review multiple times.
Instructional videos usually work best if they’re less than six minutes long (Guo et al., 2014). You can think of a video as a highlight reel or a quick dive into an important topic. Consider starting with a “hook” (like an interesting real-world example), diving into engaging content, then wrapping up with a quick summary of what you’ve covered. Research also suggests that extraneous information, complicated slides, and even music can distract from learning (Ibrahim 2012). Simplify your presentation so students can focus on what matters.
You can also support students by providing tools to help them process the information in the video (Brames 2015). For example, you can invite them to think about specific guiding questions while they watch. You can ask them to submit a quiz or share a reaction on a discussion board after they watch. You can even make the video part of a flipped classroom experience. In that case, you’ll replace your usual in-class lecture with this new video and pre-class knowledge checks. Then you’ll dedicate that freed up class time to active learning opportunities. Note that students are more likely to watch one video than five for a single class session. They may also be more interested in a new video if they’re not already balancing a heavy homework load.
Create Your Slides
Consider these tips for designing effective studio slides:
1. Keep it simple.
The best slides for studio presentations are simple, focused, and contain very little text. When you embed a video in a Canvas assignment or quiz, the video size will be similar to a cell phone screen. Prioritize visual content like basic graphics and charts to make your slides effective at that scale.
2. Use a large font size.
Use 18pt or larger fonts in your slides. You can use even bigger font sizes in slides that you’ll use in Projector scenes (since slides in Projector scenes only occupy part of the screen).
3. Plan ahead.
Familiarize yourself with the studio’s capabilities by reviewing the Explore the MIT Sloan Teaching Studio page. Here are a few important reminders:
- Your slides will not be visible in Speaker Only and Whiteboard scenes.
- You (the presenter) will not be visible in Content Only scenes.
- In Full Screen and Screencast scenes, you will appear in front of your slides. Design those slides so you don’t block important content.
- You can think of Full Screen slides as an interactive backdrop:
Full Screen Slide Example 1: You can feature an image that covers your entire slide and move around to gesture towards different parts of it.
Full Screen Slide Example 2: You can limit content to one side of the slide so it looks like images or text are appearing next to you.
Practice Your Presentation
Practice your presentation at home and during your studio orientation. This way you can confirm the length of your presentation, get a sense of what works, and spot any desired revisions. Keep these tips in mind:
- Smile and be energetic.
- Remember to enunciate.
- Use your normal speaking voice and volume.
- Feel free to use hand gestures if they feel natural.
- Use good posture and open body language.
- Look directly at the camera lens as often as possible.
- Pretend you’re talking to a friend who’s behind the camera.
