In today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving world, the need for continuous learning and development has never been greater. With the increasing demand for new skills and knowledge, traditional training formats such as lectures and textbooks are no longer sufficient. This is where training videos come in and create new scope for designing learning environments. Why is this so? Videos offer an engaging, dynamic and interactive way to acquire new knowledge and skills, making them an indispensable tool for education and training.

 

Are digital media therefore superior to traditional teaching media?

Richard E. Clark says no. He says: “There is no good reason to suppose that learners who do the same thing learn something different only because of the medium” (1983).

Nevertheless, digital media can be used to change the learning situation so that it is more effective. Therefore, today we like to take up the most important aspects to consider when developing a training video.

To do this, we will look at the following:

• The Cognitive Load Theory
• The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
• The functions that promote active learning in videos
• The functions that promote attention in training videos

 

Cognitive Load Theory by Sweller (1988, 1989, 1994).

This theory suggests that memory consists of three components.

Sensory memory is very short-term and gathers information from the environment. Some of this information is selected for temporary storage and processing in the working memory, which also has a limited capacity. This processing is a prerequisite for encoding it into long-term memory, which has virtually unlimited capacity.

John Sweller identified the three components of cognitive load on working memory as the following.

1. Intrinsic load: This is the capacity required just to solve the task itself. For example, the intrinsic load to solve this problem (2 + 2) is less than for this problem (64×8+7).
2. Extraneous load: It is the cognitive load corresponding to processing irrelevant stimuli. For example: distractions or poor training planning.
3. Germane Load: This is the mental load that aims to encode the new information into long-term memory

Since processing capacity is limited, this means that as one of the loads increases, the others decrease proportionally.

For example, if the audio quality is poor, the trainer is not following a clear line of thought and the neighbour is drilling, there will be a lot of extraneous load and consequently a lower germane load. This interferes with clean information storage and consequently proper learning cannot take place. If learning is to take place optimally, then the germane load must be maximised.

Good trainers keep extraneous loads to a minimum by preventing distractions and ensure that participants use an appropriate amount of intrinsic load by choosing tasks that are not too easy or too difficult. If the task is very easy for the participants, such as 2 + 2, then there is not enough new information to integrate. On the other hand, if the intrinsic load is very high, the participants cannot integrate anything because they do not understand anything.

Training videos Videos offer many new ways to optimise the use of this theory. By recording a training video, many distracting aspects of the environment can be manipulated or controlled. In addition, supplementary animations can be targeted and used more effectively. This can reduce distracting aspects of the environment, improve the way of speaking, find the perfect thread and direct attention better.

 

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.

This builds on Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (1988, 1989, 1994) and states that working memory has two channels for information intake and processing: a visual/pictorial channel and an auditory/verbal channel.

The capacity of these channels is limited. Therefore, in order to maximise the amount of information received, both channels need to be stimulated without overloading either of them.

If the trainer talks about the topic, the amount of information going through the auditory channel increases.  If he/she also shows pictures or animations, the second channel is stimulated with information. In this situation, both channels are activated and more information is processed and thus stored, so that a deeper learning experience takes place.

However, this theory also shows how overloading one channel can lead to impaired learning: If the trainer talks about a certain topic and shows an explanatory text at the same time, it can lead to an overload of the auditory channel in the audience.

Training videos therefore open many new doors on how to stimulate both channels simultaneously and appropriately for an optimal learning experience.

 

Active learning in videos.

Now let’s look at the features that promote active learning in videos.

But first, what does active learning mean?

According to the ICAP framework by Chi & Wiley (2014), there are four different levels of processing information. The level of processing influences how well information is stored. The higher the level of processing, the better the information is stored.

1. If a participant sits back in the lecture hall and just listens, he/she is only passively processing the information.
2. On the other hand, he/she writes down or underlines information on a piece of paper, then the information is being actively processed.
3. If a participant produces additional outputs, such as drawing a concept map or asking questions, he/she is processing the information on a constructive level.
4. The highest level of learning is the interactive level, for example when a participant discusses the topic with someone else.

It is not always possible to reach the highest level in a training because this level requires a understanding of the topic at hand, so it requires time resources that are not always available.

But planning a training video to reach the active learning level is not that difficult. Brame C. J. published an article in 2015 in which she summarised the conclusions of several studies on this topic.

1. The first study found that the use of guiding questions promotes active learning. Asking a participant questions before or at the beginning of the video to guide him/her and make him/her aware of the important things can facilitate and favour the learning experience. If the trainer asks at the beginning of the video: Are digital media superior to traditional teaching media? This primes the participants to search for and retain information that answers this question.
2. The second study found that participants learn best when they can interact with the video, i.e. pause it, play it back, change its speed, etc.
3. The third study found that videos perform better when questions with personalised feedback are integrated into the video.
4. The fourth and final study found that participants learn better when videos are part of a larger task. For example, when explanatory videos are mixed with lab exercises in a research project.

 

Functions that promote attention in training videos.

And that brings us to the last point: features that promote attention in training videos. For this, we will look at the most comprehensive study of video engagement to date, using data from 6.9 million video sessions. The study by Guo P. J., Kim J. & Rubin R. in 2014 found six factors that influence attention.

1. And the factor that influences engagement the most is video length. The authors of the study formulated the hypothesis: shorter videos are more engaging not only because of length, but also because they may be better planned.
2. Second finding: videos that intersperse a lecturer’s talking head with slides are more engaging than slide-only videos.
3. Third: Videos in which the personality of the host is noticeable are more appealing than those in which this is not the case.
4. Fourth:. Tutorials with Khan-style drawing (a certain type of animation) are more engaging than those that have PowerPoint slides.
5. Fifth: Even high quality recorded classroom lectures are not as exciting when used in an online course.
6. And now for the last point: videos in which the hosts speak fairly fast and with enthusiasm are more engaging than videos in which they speak calmly and slowly.

 

Let us summarise the most important aspects to consider.

– The Germane Load should be maximised, while the Extraneus Load should be reduced and the Intrinsic Load kept at an appropriate level.

– Both the visual and auditory channels should be stimulated without overloading either with too much or competing information.

– Videos should be an active experience by providing guiding questions at the beginning, allowing participants to navigate through the video at their own pace, including questions with personalised feedback, and/or making the video part of a larger training session.

– Videos should be kept as short as possible. This does not mean that long videos are of lower quality, but that videos should be planned to be of a length that is comfortable for users.

– Both a talking head and graphic elements should be used. This can help direct the focus to what is important.

– If the situation allows it, the trainer’s personality should be noticeable in the video by speaking informally, making jokes, etc.

– Ideally, graphic elements should be used that are more engaging than just PowerPoint slides.

– Plan accordingly, because the way of speaking in a video is different from the way of speaking in a face-to-face seminar/training/lecture.

With the information from these theories and studies, hopefully you now know what to look for and what to consider when creating training videos. We hope you enjoy trying them out. And as every skill requires: It also takes time, patience and practice. But there is no better time than now to start. Have fun!

22.05.2020 For many, almost 10 weeks of Working@Home are now behind us. Some helpful routines have been formed in the meantime, new tools and efficient working techniques have been learned and the state of emergency has created a strange, new everyday life. And yet now comes a dry spell. This way of working is reaching its limits. Colleagues are missed more, the spatial separation of our life areas is painfully missing. The urge back to the “workplace” is felt everywhere. Just in case it goes on like this for a few more days or weeks or if Working@Home becomes firmly established again: Here are a few tips from companies, freelancers and bloggers on how home office works.

The workplace

“As you’ve made your bed, now you must lie in it,” says the people. This applies not only to the choice of mattress, but also to the choice of a suitable workplace. Depending upon the possibilities of the own home naturally. Ideal is a delimited area with table and ergonomic chair with lateral light and a clean working environment. This prevents distractions. For those who do not have a home office, order helps. Please put away everything that is not needed for working. Sometimes a visual change, such as a cloth, can also help, giving the table a new appearance and the head a new way to switch to work mode. For days when you need special motivation, a small bouquet of flowers or a motivating picture next to the laptop may also help. The phenomenon that the outside can influence the inside and vice versa is not unknown. Everybody knows that in a suit or evening dress you move and behave differently than in a jogging suit. How was it with the control and the jogging pants, dear Karl Lagerfeld? And that brings us straight to the second tip: the clothing.

The clothes

It is best to choose exactly the same clothes that you would wear in the office. Those who usually dress more casually in jeans and polo shirt or sweater will keep that in mind. In other industries, a shirt or blouse may also be appropriate. Shoes can also help to switch to “work mode”. The posture is immediately more upright and the head gets the impulse to switch to “work mode”. Also, one performs better during (many) video conferences.

The structure

Working@Home lacks a spatial structure and a clear separation of living areas. This makes it all the more important to be well organized in terms of time. On some days fixed appointments from outside help, such as video calls, remote workshops, jour-fixed appointments with the boss, team or customers. If this framework is missing, it is a good idea to create a fixed rhythm. Those who have fixed reachability from their company are usually sitting at their desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached. After that is “end of work”. How meaningful these rules are is debatable. This varies depending on the business model and type of person. After all, there are many studies on the different daily and working rhythms of people. In science, a distinction is made between larks, owls or other types. An added value offered by the home office is certainly to be able to better accommodate individual inclinations. Why not go to the virtual school with the children for an hour in the morning, as is currently required? But then in the evening between 19.00-20.00 o’clock again process the e-mails. Current collaboration platforms provide excellent support for this. It is easy to leave a message there when a person is “on” or “off”.

The breaks

Breaks are especially important in the home office. Various researches have come to the conclusion that breaks are creative and efficient. After about 90 minutes our brain is exhausted and needs a short break. After about 4 hours, a longer break is recommended. The eyes are also grateful for a screen break. Don’t forget to move, another tip – all experts agree on this. Not only that especially people who are on the move in creative professions often describe the phenomenon, the best ideas would come in the shower, during sports or while sleeping. Every person has the natural need to move. With Working@Home and the maximum between the kitchen and bedroom, this can be clearly neglected. Little rituals can help here, such as stretching from the “desk” every time you get up or circling your shoulders after every “call”.

The Mental Hygiene

The right mindset is the key to success, experts today also agree on this. Especially in the home office, self-management, motivation and self-discipline are the decisive success factors. Here it comes again and again to overlapping of the different roles and areas of life. So it’s good to always be clear about what’s coming up and what’s not. What is allowed is what helps. Some people find 5 minutes of morning meditation helpful, others use visualizations, to-do lists or the handwritten marker on the kitchen door. It is recommended to take a short break to realign yourself and to reprioritize if necessary. And above all, to allow yourself to take time off from family and work at home, as well as “doing nothing” just for yourself.

The future of Working@Home

At present, no one can predict how Corona will change our working world. Digitization has already gained momentum. So has creativity, solidarity and openness to New Work. Steve Galveski describes five different stages of remote work on Medium.com. From stage 1 “Non-Deliberate Action” to stage 5 the “Nirvana”, in which the virtual office no longer tries to copy the physical office, but defines its own rules through clever use and thus becomes more productive. Well, we´ll see. In any case, it’s a good idea to take a look at how Working@Home works sustainably. From now on it is part of it.

 

Learning Journeys are a journey into the world of new learning. They comprehensively reform the personnel and organizational development process and combine many innovative and modern learning concepts of tomorrow – today. We have also embarked on a journey to take a look behind the scenes of the “Learning Journey” format: Come with us!

The first stage of the Learning Journey of learning

Everybody who has pressed the school desk, or the lecture hall knows this: One speaks monotonously and unagitated in the style of a frontally reader and the other listeners find it difficult to follow or even keep their eyes open. The frontal lecture was gradually replaced by a seminar, a workshop or interactive training. However, although interaction and direct participation made time pass faster, a sobering realization remained: only certain competences can be imparted through such formats, they cost a lot of resources and actually only make sense if the entire group of participants starts from scratch (or another common starting point).

In times of fast-moving change and constant adaptation, it was not far from the idea to digitise these formats because of the high commitment of resources. Webinars, podcasts or virtual classroom trainings were expected to increase efficiency in learning – after all, participants no longer had to travel to get in touch with learning. Unfortunately, these concepts soon reached their limits. A lack of individual consideration, external employment, of topic transfer and technical challenges added to the already known difficulties. The problem that curricular learning is only partially effective with heterogeneous levels of knowledge was not tackled in the first place. Not to mention the sustainability of learning.

The alternative route also had its pitfalls

At the same time, the realisation developed that knowledge content and skills in particular do not have to be acquired in presence or interpersonal interaction. e-Learning was born as a virtual brother to the good old textbook. Worldwide and at any time access to the learning content, learning on demand thus. And all you need is access to the internet. Many companies invested horrendous sums to implement their own e-learning concept in their in-house Learning Management System (LMS). Of course, with excitingly prepared and as interactive and multimedia as possible content.

The problem? The laboriously created content is always obsolete and outdated after a short time. In addition, it is often not so easy for employees to find “just in time” and “tailor-made” answers to everyday questions in the e-learning tools. Changes are usually time-consuming and costly, especially if an external service provider is involved. In addition, it quickly made the rounds that knowledge competences are only part of the necessary tools for people – primarily it is also about ability (application competences) and will (attitude competences, the much-quoted mindset). And that is where e-learning has its limits.

What is a Learning Journey now?

A smart combination of the two approaches, digital and analogue learning. And this on a temporary basis, from 12 weeks to 24 months or more, depending on the topic.

The topics can range from a limited field (e.g. “communication”) to a holistic program (e.g. “leadership development”). The concept of the Learning Journey makes it possible to design different learning architectures.

Learning Journeys solve the problem of previous learning by combining the advantages of individual successful formats and principles. These are workplace-based learning journeys that provide individual and multi-method learning nuggets and at the same time enable collaboration with other learners as well as experiential learning. They take into account interindividual differences in knowledge, ability and willingness and accompany learners on their individual learning path in a maximum of self-determination. Thus, they consider fundamental motivation principles.

 

Guide to the next stage of the Journey of Learning

Learning journeys of the current zeitgeist combine personnel and organisational development. What starts with an individual learning path and the development of individual employees can, of course, be rolled out to the entire organisation and has an influence on the working and learning climate, cooperation and networking within the organisation and, of course, on innovation and creativity. And last but not least, the added value of the entire company.

Such a journey follows clear principles. It is subject to a closed time frame, combines several formats in a blended learning approach and is set up as a workspace learning format. Employees should no longer learn instead of working; they should rather learn at work and in their own company. However, this also means being able to learn practical applications, knowledge and certain skills on demand. Learning in itself follows thereby the 70:20:10 principle, which proceeds from the assumption that in approximately

– 70% of our learning through own experiences through challenges and tasks

– 20% of our learning through exchange and collaboration and advice from others

– and 10% of our learning takes place through classical further education and training measures.

The different learning levels can be translated to different components of Learning Journeys. Jennings and Wargnier already suggested ways to apply this in their further development of the 70:20:10 approach.

These principles apply to the learning of the individual as well as to the learning of the organisation.

 

How exactly does a Learning Journey look like?

Ideally, a Learning Journey starts with a “kick-off” and ends with a “final event”. After all, achievements must be “celebrated”, online or offline. Within this framework, the development path for gaining learning experience at the workplace is accompanied by Community Learning as well as on- and off-site workshops. Collaborative learning takes place throughout the learning group and in peer groups. Virtual or live. Supported by small learning assignments and the provision of user-generated content. Learning experience is also acquired through e-learning content, practical projects at the workplace or, for example, excursions. Ideally, learners can decide for themselves which nuggets they want to work on and when. The individual learning experience can optionally be reflected by process-accompanying coaching. The duration of a Journey can be individually arranged. From 12 weeks with regular sprints, as is known from “Working out Loud“, to qualification trips lasting several years.

Especially compact journeys of 12 weeks have proven their worth.

And in “real” …

In theory, this sounds like a holistic and promising approach. But what can such learning journeys look like in practice?

Here are three examples:

Leadership & Management

The “Leadership & Management Programme” is an international qualification for middle management in stationary retail in the premium segment, which addresses classical and future competencies. It is a pioneer of new learning and working, which follows the principle 70:20:10 and shapes the development of a new learning culture by means of forward-looking learning formats.

Based on a competence analysis, an individual learning path (Learner Journey) is mapped for each participant, which essentially extends over approximately 24 months. Individual learning nuggets developed by the customer for this target group are available for the development of each competence. These can be worked on independently “on demand” and the acquisition of competence is proven promptly (mini test). Learning content is processed using innovative formats. These include community learning, virtual coaching, workspace learning (e-learning, practical projects), virtual classroom training and presence workshops. The Learning Journey starts with a future conference and a development centre, is mapped via a credit point system and ends with a graduation event. Each participant then remains a member of the leadership community, which functions as a supporting pillar of the Learning Organization.

Multipliers Fitness

Multipliers are people who pass on knowledge to others in the company. With their help all participants of a company can be reached when it comes to “Future Fitness”. But first the multipliers must achieve “Future Readiness”.

And this is how it works, for example:

The Community Learning Platform provides participants with initial information about the program. They then take part in a three-day on-site workshop, a discovery centre to determine their individual qualification needs, receive individual feedback and complete their first learning nuggets. The learners then embark on their individual learning path, which consists of self-directed learning units flanked by virtual classroom training and, on demand, on-site workshops. At the same time, each multiplier develops its own case with a qualification unit containing innovative media and formats and iterated with the peer group. The final part is a two-day future workshop with a deep dive into innovative qualification formats and a training centre in which the individual cases are “tested”.

What Learning Journeys can do

Learning Journeys can help to transform a company into a Learning Organization. They inspire collaboration and exchange as well as cross-departmental and interdisciplinary networking. They are clearly more than highly effective learning, development and qualification measures. The implementation of Learning Journeys lays the foundation for a new learning culture within the organization. They act as a grassroots movement of knowledge sharing through collaboration and user-generated content.

This enables the entire organisation to be innovative, creative and able to connect to the challenges of the future.