The Benefits of Interactive Video for Learning
"Sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie," old movie trailers used to say. But visual media creators, like education professionals, have long struggled to eliminate the passivity of visual media. Because sitting back can lead to disinterest and distraction. To combat this and engage the viewer with the content displayed on the screen, we have witnessed many initiatives such as 3D, IMAX, and surround sound.
The challenges that already existed for visual media producers have become much more pronounced recently with the emergence of mobile games, ubiquitous broadband and 4G, social media, and on-demand user experiences. People now expect to have control and touch the screens. They want to view media everywhere and on any device, immerse themselves in the media, engage with or create the script, and decide on the next step.
Therefore, the solution may be interactive video! We can define interactive video as an online visual experience that allows the user to click or tap on the image to trigger an action.
Interactive video can allow viewers to control "what to do next" and watch the characters in the video respond to the user's decisions. It allows them to see the consequences of their choices, jump to places that interest them, and see events from the perspective of different characters. It puts the user in the middle of the action and waits for the user's decisions to guide the experience.
Interactive video has several different uses. Interactive videos are widely used in online promotion and marketing. Some of the creative and innovative uses of interactive video have been in music videos and visual arts. The opportunity to create engaging learning experiences has also begun to be recognized by educational content providers and education and development organizations.
There are four key benefits of interactive videos, which make them very attractive for education and development (L&D).
1. Cross-platform availability
Interactive videos work seamlessly on most browsers and devices such as PCs, phones, and tablets. The same video(s) provide a consistent and powerful experience regardless of whether the user is in front of a laptop in the office or viewing from a mobile device on the bus. This simplifies the production process. You don't have to worry about multiple versions or fine-tuning for different operating systems. Your users also enjoy the freedom.
2. Personalization
Interactive video allows for user-driven decision-making and a sense of user control. This provides a more personalized learning experience for the user. Videos can be structured to allow users to make choices based on their roles, levels, or knowledge gaps. According to Brandon Hall Group, video-based learning is one of the top five critical elements for effective personalized learning.
3. Engagement
Interactive video is engaging and involves the user in the content. Users are fickle, and if training feels slow, boring, or passive, they may turn their backs on it. Industry statistics confirm that interactive video experiences reduce the rate at which users abandon training compared to normal "flat" video. Story-driven approaches encourage exploration. When the scenario branches, the user wonders what will happen with different choices and may want to complete the training again. When interactive learning is implemented correctly and effectively, you get experiential learning through engaging characters and narratives on the scenario side, and decision-based outcomes and outputs on the training side.
4. Fast and Flexible
Video is the most versatile of all learning methods. Video can even be a stand-alone micro-learning material. You can use videos in a face-to-face training experience or in a broader digital training. Your videos can also be used as mini-simulations or performance support aids. Also, let's mention that most interactive video platforms provide user-friendly and cloud-based authoring tools. Interactive videos can be detailed, but they don't have to be. You can make your own interactive video in an afternoon with a camera, basic video editing software, icons, and a good design.
The benefits of interactive videos for education professionals extend beyond these four benefits we have listed. Some platforms support social features (such as sharing, commenting, or rating) created by other users for users, providing a secondary information channel. Most platforms generate robust, real-time audience analytics that can provide fascinating insights and metrics about users' behaviors and choices. A key advantage for marketers is feedback. The viewer
