Videos in STEM courses: A hands-on workshop for creating instructional videos

Among strategies for student-centered teaching, the flipped class is arguably most student-centric. A flipped-course has two hallmarks: (1) students watch short instructional videos or screencasts before coming to class, and (2) students spend time in class problem-solving, both individually and in groups. The benefits of this approach are numerous and include an increase in classroom learning, and a fostering of collaboration amongst students. The instructional videos also serve as extra studying resources for students outside of class. Similarly, in courses with lectures, whether interrupted by peer discussion, or didactic in nature, instructional videos can be a valuable resource for students. However, recognizing the possible uses and value of videos in STEM courses is not enough if you are unfamiliar with videography and video editing software. For flipped courses the challenges are even greater given that instructors need to develop a new course plan, and write, record and edit videos covering the entire curriculum. An unfamiliarity with videography and video editing software and techniques, and the perceived time costs associated with the whole process, may seem prohibitive. In an earlier conference session, we discuss how we use videos in our courses, including how we restructured two of our courses to implement a flipped approach. In this workshop, we will guide participants through the process of creating their own instructional videos. Participants will write a narrative, record a short ~5 minute video, edit video clips using Camtasia, and publish their video shorts to an online forum