Planning your videos

These videos come in two forms: 

• physical demonstrations (e.g. equipment guides) 
• screen-recorded demonstrations (typically for software or coding).

Physical demonstrations can be the most effective way to show a complex concept or technology. Seeing something in action helps bridge the gap between theory and practice and can stimulate curiosity. 

A screen-recorded demonstration, or screencast, is content captured from a computer screen with commentary and guidance. It is particularly useful for coding and software walkthroughs, but can be a good way to demonstrate any process that uses a computer.

Typically this is used to demonstrate a specific computer application, teaching programming or demonstrating a coding function, etc. It can also be used to annotate existing PDFs or slides and record a voice over. These videos tend to be unscripted but we suggest writing a list of the structure/things you want to cover.

Capturing this type of content requires screen recording software and a microphone, which is often built into your device and operating system.

Combining a variety of audio and video sources could require using a programme like Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). We will provide support and training so that you can achieve this. 

If you want to add informal tutorials to your course, you might want to consider adding screencasts. The main benefits of screencasts versus studio-recorded video are that they are quick to make and so are easier to fit around your schedule. 

Screencasts can help you to demonstrate how to answer a problem; for example, you could set a question, ask the students to answer it and then they can watch the screencast demo after their attempt. You could also quickly add some exam tips for students to read before they start their revision or coursework tips to help them with their summative assignments.