Part 8: EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS | How to Lecture in Higher Education

Lecture videos:
Different types of lecture videos provide flexibility for you and your students.
A short educational video should be approximately 5-10 minutes. Perhaps you want your students to see how to set up and run a chemistry experiment before they get to your lab. Then record yourself doing it first as you explain the steps and what students should expect to see when they do it themselves. Another example could be if a student asked a question in class, and you promised to get back to them later. You could record a short video where you show and discuss the question and your reply to it and then distribute the video's link to all students in the class.
A longer lecture video should be approximately 10-20 minutes. If you need more time, I suggest recording a series of videos. That's what I do, and I'm convinced my average student appreciates learning in chunks rather than watching hour-long videos.
Record a live lecture where you talk face-to-face with your class:
If it is in a lecture hall on campus, you can set up a camera tripod or have someone film you. For example, Jordan Petersen has published lectures on his KZbin channel. Some lecture halls also have cameras and microphones installed and ready to record. I suggest you talk to centralized support for instructions and help if you want to record in your lecture hall. The common problem with live recording a lecture is lousy audio and that you or your slides do not show up well in the video. Petersen had professional help with quality cameras, microphones, and editing. I have tried this technique several times, but I find it hard to capture the things I show and discuss during a lecture with quality. Usually, the slides are too bright or too dark, my handwriting on the board is barely legible, and the audio is poor. Instead, I prefer screen capturing my lectures, which I discuss in more detail below.
Suppose it is an online lecture with a video conference tool like Zoom. In that case, you can easily record and save everything. The downside is that editing out student faces and voices takes a lot of time, and you need to do that to preserve their anonymity. This also goes for any other live recording you do in your lecture hall.
Record a screen capture sitting at your desk:
I prefer using capture software like Camtasia or Screenflow to record the computer screen while presenting at my desk. This is not a live performance since this is something separate from class meetings, and no students attend. You can even use video conference software such as Zoom to record your screen. The content is usually presentation slides, web browser navigation, digital illustrations, or similar. It could also be a virtual whiteboard where you write and show things. As I said, this is the video I often create with Camtasia to record my computer screen as I talk into a microphone.
Software applications have more features, are a bit more complex to use, and must be installed on your computer. Examples are Camtasia, which I use, ScreenFlow, and Adobe Captivate.
You can also record lectures from your computer with online tools. Online tools have fewer features, are easier to use, and require only a small or no installation on your computer. Examples are Screencast-o-Matic and Jing.
Regardless of the type of recorded video, you must edit it. I strongly recommend learning how to edit if you want to record your own educational videos. Students expect good quality, and you should trim the video's ends and remove irrelevant parts from the middle so that everything looks and sound as professional as possible.