The purpose of VfK's video production is to produce videos facilitated using research on viewers' way of watching educational videos and how well they learn from the videos they watch.

VfK has so far not initiated its productions but has produced videos for teaching purposes at the request of different departments at NTNU. At the request of the rectorate, VfK has also collaborated with several of the major innovative projects that have been active in the period 2013-2016 and have so far produced videos for Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Statistics (in collaboration with KTDiM), Lab instruction to General Chemistry (for the Department of Chemistry), General Chemistry (in collaboration with the Multimedia Center and VKR) and Thermodynamics (for the Department of Physics). Since the project was initiated, VfK has produced over 400 videos.

The theoretical basis of production

One of the premises for being able to research the use of video for teaching purposes is to bring the technical quality of the videos up to an acceptable level. VfK's recording standard was until 2016 what was previously considered HD, 720p (720x1280), which is considered normal TV quality today, but now the recording and publishing standard is "full HD", 1080p (1080x1920). This dictates that both picture quality and sound must be as good as practically possible.

Another premise for the production is to focus on shorter videos with content adapted for the video form. This provides better opportunities to control the recording quality, where we can set the image with the best possible cutout and light, as well as record sound with better microphones in an acoustically more predictable environment than what we find in auditoriums, full classrooms or regular offices. During VfK's first three years, we have produced videos that experiment with formats that will make the videos more attractive as well as better learning tools. Lengths have been kept to a minimum, preferably between five and 20 minutes – although some videos have been up to over 40 minutes at most. Prima sound and image quality have been indispensable basis.

The content of the videos is also adapted specifically concerning presentation for the video format, and the didactics can be both prepared and improved through better planning of the lecturer and feedback from a didactic consultant. This also makes the presentations better organized in terms of the cognitive load on the two channels the information has to go through to reach working memory, the image and sound channels via the eyes and ears.

Richard E. Mayer's multimedia principles (Multimedia Learning, Cambridge, 2009) have laid a foundation for how content should be presented, and we find that most of the principles hold water and work well as a guide for how information is organized and conveyed, distributed across the image and audio channels. The content of the videos is also based on the principle that announcing at the beginning what the video is about (signalling principle) increases learning outcomes, and VfK has added a principle that summarizing the most important learning points at the end of the video can help the information go even more efficiently from working memory, where sensory impressions are processed, to long-term memory where learning should be stored over time.

Avoiding all sorts of distractions that could shift viewers' focus away from the theme presented – the coherence principle – is one of the most important factors in VfK's productions. Distractors are everything in the image and/or in the sound that has nothing to do with the presentation of the academic content, but unnecessarily attracts attention; a plug on the wall in the background, a lecturer's colourful tie, background noise in the soundtrack, irrelevant verbal expressions or a lecturer's, for the presentation, unnecessary movements. The videos should be as simple content-wise as possible so that distractors don't take attention away from what viewers are supposed to be concentrating on.

We have in addition used EyeTracker technology to look at the effects of clipping between live action and screen recordings of what is presented and any need for cues indicating where in the image the attention should be focused, how long visual elements should reside in the image to maximize the perception of them, as well as the effects of having the presenter in the image or not. The latter is one of Mayer's principles (image principle) that we see indications that may not quite agree with the theory: It seems to be advantageous to have the lecturer's face in the picture, if not throughout the video, then at least occasionally. Previous research has shown that being able to see the lecturer's face has a positive effect, both in terms of motivation and learning, and our EyeTracker investigations seem to support this.   

Formats

The department of Mathematics wanted a series of problem-solving videos for Mathematics 1 and 2. Initially, they wanted videos using blackboards and chalk to emulate the lecture situation the students are familiar with. We recorded several videos with a blackboard. Presentation-wise, the videos were good. Chalk on a chalkboard is something viewers can relate to, and the dark green is pleasing to the eye. The personal style where the lecturer addresses the camera also worked well. From a production perspective, the videos are of a good technical standard, but they were very resource-intensive to produce. In retrospect, we saw that the use of these videos was high.

As a continuation of the concept of blackboard videos, VfK started in 2015 producing videos using a large 84-inch touchscreen with screen annotation software that allows the lecturer to write on the screen over the open application. The videos were recorded in the Multimedia Center's TV studio. The principle is the same as in the blackboard videos, where the lecturer addresses the camera while the academic content is derived on the screen. Where the blackboard videos needed two cameras and two camera operators, the touch screen videos were managed with one. In parallel with the live-action video recording, a screen recording was taken from the touch screen itself, so when the lecturer either stands in the way of what they write or a mistake is made and has to be cut away, we can cut between the camera and screen recording. In this way, we can also take the lecturer completely out of the picture as needed to sharpen the focus on the content on the screen, as well as digitally "zoom" in on details.

VfK has also produced videos for the Department of Physics on Thermodynamics, recorded in the Multimedia Center's TV studio with a lecturer in front of the camera and the use of a SmartPodium. These recordings were made with one camera, and a parallel screen recording of the content from the SmartPodium was made. The lecturer turned to the camera, and we cut to the image from the SmartPodium every time the lecturer deduced things in writing.

In addition to studio recordings, VfK has produced themed videos and lab instruction as well as demonstration videos for the Department of Chemistry. These are in practice short film productions with a particularly strong focus on the accuracy of the presentation of the academic content. The lab videos instruct viewers in basic techniques for special lab procedures, often also with subject theory, and the focus is on visibility and clarity in demonstration and content. The themed videos are produced in a reportage / short film format with a mixture of live-action lectures in the studio, illustrations, demonstration videos and graphics of figures, etc. Detailed scripts are prepared in collaboration with the academic staff and a didacticist to quality assure all the details of the content.

Present status

Even if the project period and hence financing has ended, VfK continues to produce videos that both exploit and challenge the basic principles we used earlier. We need to challenge the different formats further and refine them, and we need to look at opportunities for new effective formats for presentation and production that can work as well as or better than the ones we're already working on. 

One impact of VfK has been a change in how videos are produced at NTNU’s media studio, which now adheres to the production principles developed in the project from Mayer’s principles 

The goal of VfK's work was to improve knowledge on what specifically makes videos good learning tools. The project reached some of these goals and discussions between participants in the project continue to this day intending to further improve videos based on our results and experiences.