There are many ways to film and produce MOOCs and instructional videos. It seems that a fully scripted video seems to be the preferred approach by many educators. But there are another ways to gain subject-related knowledge.
Meet the University of Hong Kong, an edX Consortium university, and its latest filming experiment. They have adopted three different approaches when recording MOOCs.
- Talking head videos. These two courses (Epidemics and Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought) were recorded with professors on a green screen; motion graphics and still images were added later.
- Panel Discussions. This course The Search for Vernacular Architecture of Asia adopts a round-table format to discuss main issues.
- Location Filming. It is the best choice for some courses such as this one in Vernacular Architecture.
Far beyond creating a nice and engaging input, there is always the possibility of creating –or at least trying to create– viral MOOC videos.
Watch above, for example, George Mason University’s Professor Donald J. Boudreaux’s five-minute video lecture on the evolution of human prosperity: killer graphics, slick animation, studio lighting, multiple takes… A professional film studio in San Francisco spent two full days filming the four lectures that compose the course “Everyday Economics”. The video has gotten over 130,000 views.
