High-quality online resources that support active learning in the classroom are a key part of Sydney’s approach to blended learning. Developing meaningful video and media is a bit part of this. As part of the Teaching and Learning Strategy 2023-2025, the Educational Innovation team in the DVC (Education) Portfolio will be working closely with faculties and university schools to deliver effective blended learning experiences to maximise engagement and outcomes for all students – and part of this is by helping educators design and make the right multimedia to support student learning.
Designing for diversity – Using video to enhance your teaching materials
Designing for diversity requires us to challenge a one-size-fits-all approach and instead look to offer our students more than one way to receive or engage with content.
Using video is one way to enhance your instructional materials. Video gives students the opportunity to go back and review material, slow down or speed up the recording, pause to ask or answer questions. This benefits all students but in particular those who need more time to process information, and students who are time poor or distracted and need to revisit information at another time or in another place.
Another benefit of using video is captions. If using Canvas Studio, captions are auto-generated, and relatively quick to edit and make it easy to provide a transcript as yet another option for your students to access the same content.
How can we help you develop videos?
Use our equipment and spaces to produce your own videos
The DIY Recording Booth is a well-equipped, sound-proof space, purpose-built for users to record and edit their own educational media.
There are two workstations in the DIY Recording Booth: one for video recording, and one for podcasts. To use the DIY Recording Booth, you need to complete an orientation session during which you’ll get familiar with the equipment in the booth, learn the necessary skills for recording and editing different types of media, and understand the guidelines for booking and using the space.
We offer in person training sessions every month, and an online module you can complete any time. Once you complete one of these orientations, we’ll set you up with access to the space. After that, you’ll be able to book your own recording sessions in the booth.
Borrow one of our media kits to enhance the recording capability of your equipment
There are two kinds of media kits available: a computer kit and an on-location kit.
The DIY booth and kits are free for University staff members to use to create learning and teaching materials. To borrow equipment, fill out our online form. We’ll then arrange an appointment for you to pick-up your gear on campus. You can pick out the equipment you want or we can make recommendations.
Send us an email if you have any questions or need advice: [email protected].
Learn how to edit and produce your own videos using Adobe Rush
We run a workshop called “Easy Video editing in Adobe Premiere Rush” where we take a small group through the process of editing a simple video. This is a hands-on workshop where you are encouraged to bring in some footage of your own to follow along with and we’ll be there to help you every step of the way. We run these workshops on Zoom and in-person with your own device. To register for our next workshop check out the Educational Innovation Events calendar.
Check out our online resources
We have some handy online resources that you can refer to, to help get the most out of your DIY video projects. Navigate to our Canvas page, where you will find some links and resources. We share some tips for filming with smart phones, how to record yourself at home and some basics for editing in Adobe Premiere Rush.
Book a 1:1 consult
What style of media can best support your learning outcomes? What are the steps you need to turn an idea into an actual video that you can upload to your Canvas site? If you’d like some guidance, book an appointment for an Educational Design consultation on educational video design and recording. Whether you need help identifying appropriate media to be developed for your unit, learn how to record or cut a podcast, or plan the best way you can film and edit your videos, we can sit down with you and advise on the best plan you can take.
Get help with bigger video projects
Our Media Team can help you make your educational videos.
They can collaborate with you from the initial planning and scripting, through to recording and editing.
They make many different styles of videos:
- Interview
- Welcome
- Lecture/presentation
- How to/demonstration
- Screencast
- Lightboard
- Role-play
- Animated
The team can film specialised video techniques such as slow-motion, time-lapse, drone and macro and have experience with 360-degree video & infrared cameras.
Filming takes place in our studio in the Education Building and on location on campus. Check out some of our past projects.
Come see how it all works
Our open studio sessions are the perfect way to explore our studio without having a project ready to film. Acquaint yourself with the studio and gain some hands-on experience. We’ll show you some of the different ways the studio can be set up and introduce you to some of the camera, lighting, and sound equipment we use. You can test out our lightboard, experience being in front of the camera and read a script off a tele-teleprompter without the pressure of having something to deliver at the end.
To attend session go to the Educational Innovation Events calendar.
Apply for video project assistance
If you have an idea on how you want to use media in your teaching and you want help developing these resources, our team can help. We have an online request form for you to complete.
We will support as many teaching and learning projects as we can. If we can’t help you this time, we can always help you later.
If you have any further questions about how to get help for media production please get in touch [email protected].
In a nutshell
Here are all the links to the resources we talked about above, plus more:
- About the DIY Recording Booth
- About the DIY Media Kits
- Teaching Resources Hub – Designing for Diversity
- Teaching Resources Hub – Making educational videos
- Top 5 questions about making videos for teaching
- Educational Innovation Events calendar
- Educational Design consultations
- Video request form
- Educational Innovation Media team
- Educational Innovation Media team – YouTube channel
- Watch a video summary of this article
