Review: 99 Tips for Creating Simple and Sustainable Educational Videos

Section 1 - 3: Foundations for Incorporating Videos Into Your Teaching

Section 1

Section 1 explains the relevance of creating videos for both students and teachers, emphasizing how they can aid teachers as a pedagogical tool.

Notable tips:

• Tip 7: SAVE TIME
• Tip 9: INCREASE COMPREHENSION OF COURSE CONCEPTS

Section 2

Section 2 focuses on aligning video creation with instructional goals, highlighting not only teaching excellence and student outcomes but also student-teacher relationships.

Notable tips:

• Tip 12: SHOW YOUR HUMANITY
• Tip 15: TELL A STORY
• Tip 17: MAKE A MINI LECTURE

Section 3

Section 3 discusses different theoretical frameworks that could help teachers approach their video creation process.

Notable tips:

• Tip 25: VALIDATE YOUR STUDENTS
• Tip 26: BEGIN WITH BRAINS (Brain-based teaching - understands how the brain learns best)
• Tip 34: KNOW THE RESEARCH

Section 4-5: Video Type and Distribution

Section 4

Section 4 outlines different types of instructional videos, their pros and cons for teachers to decide what videos suit their needs and capabilities best.

Notable tips:

• Tip 36: FORGET HOLLYWOOD
• Tip 41: COMBINE SCREENCASTS WITH TALKING HEADS

Section 5

Section 5 discusses when and how to distribute your videos to students.

Notable tips:

• Tip 44: COMPLEMENT COURSE DISCUSSIONS
• Tip 47: SHARE VIDEOS WITH INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS
• Tip 51: INCORPORATE VIDEOS INTO MIDTERM AND FINAL REVIEWS

Section 6-10: Video Production

Section 6

Section 6 teaches readers how to create a setting that will lead to high-quality videos, mostly focusing on the logistical aspects of recording.

Notable tips:

• Tip 52: FIND DECENT LIGHTING
• Tip 54: KEEP THE CAMERA LENS LEVEL WITH YOUR FACE
• Tip 57: REDUCE BACKGROUND NOISE

Section 7

Section 7 discusses different presentation skills that could help teachers produce engaging videos while maintaining connections with students on a human level.

Notable tips:

• Tip 59: DON’T READ SLIDES
• Tip 62: THE CAMERA WILL EAT YOUR ENERGY - be animated.
• Tip 66: EXPLAIN THE VIDEO’S RELEVANCE

Section 8

Section 8: PowerPoint is a great tool to help with organizing and illustrating course contents. The chapter provides tips on how to improve your PowerPoint presentation game.

Notable tips:

• Tip 69: APPLY BASIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• Tip 71: UNDERSTAND THE NEUROSCIENCE OF POWERPOINT

Section 9

Section 9: In this no-shame section, Karen Costa presents some techniques that could help those who are still hesitant to appear on camera and how they can slowly improve their confidence.

Notable tips:

• Tip 74: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
• Tip 77: GET ANIMATED

Section 10

Section 10 discusses ways to organize videos and share them with students.

Notable tips:

• Tip 82: NOTE THE VIDEO’S LENGTH FOR STUDENTS
• Tip 84: CREATE A YOUTUBE PLAYLIST for your course
• Tip 86: DISCOVER UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING and increase accessibility to content for all students.

Section 11-12: Sustainable Practices for Video Creation

Section 11

Section 11 outlines some strategic approaches in building video creation practice. Most of these tips will help as you plan your videos.

Notable tips:

• Tip 87: KEEP A TEACHING JOURNAL
• Tip 89: PRIORITIZE YOUR PLAN
• Tip 93: SEEK SUPPORT

Section 12

Section 12 is a fun conclusion to the book where the author explains some practice exercises that aim to consolidate the skills discussed throughout this book.

Notable tips:

• Tip 95: SAY A TONGUE TWISTER
• Tip 97: TELL A JOKE
• Tip 99: SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART
  

Have you always wanted to embrace technology in your classroom but have never had the time? Or are you already a video veteran looking to improve your craft? This book is a combination of an anecdotal tour of Karen Costa's own journey as an educator and research-based evidence into the world of educational videos, full of advice and inspiration. Costa aims to humanize the online learning experience by providing 99 tips on how to create simple and sustainable educational videos to complement a traditional learning environment or enhance online education. Each of these tips is bite-sized and practical, perfect for faculty at any stage of their journey in creating videos.

• How to read this book: Faculty are encouraged to look through the table of contents and jump around to tips that they find most relevant to their needs. Short introductions at the beginning of each section will help provide an overview of what is covered and their significance to the topic. Each chapter also has sample videos (presented in QR codes) that help illustrate how the author’s ideas will look in video.
• Faculty are encouraged to take into account NYU Abu Dhabi’s unique context: the diversity of our student body when reading this book and creating videos to increase accessibility for your course.
  • For example: most NYUAD speak English as an additional language to their native or heritage tongue.

• Have you thought about how a bank of teaching videos would increase accessibility for students?

• If you already have videos in your course, how are students reacting to those video lectures? Can you point out one or two improvements that can be made?

• What are the ways you can incorporate videos into your course? Where would you place them? How much time can you allocate in creating videos?
  

Costa, Karen. (2020). 99 Tips For Creating Simple And Sustainable Educational Videos. Stylus Publishing.