Shooting video according to the script is one thing, but what about when you can’t call "cut" and start over again? When there’s no fixing it in post? Or when participants are live online, as well as live in an ILT situation? How can we best leverage interactions cross-format? What technology and resources are needed to pull off livestream?

The effectiveness of any eLearning experience is only as good as the instructional design put into it. But can instructional design alone make eLearning engaging and effective? The truth is, good eLearning design is more than just instructional design. An engaging eLearning experience uses visual design, graphic design, and user interface design to help elevate the instructional design and learning experience.

Most trainers today make video, but many have not had the opportunity to learn key principles for making video engaging because it's usually not taught in train-the-trainer classes or adult learning programs. It's the stuff usually taught at film schools.

Keeping viewer's attention with video is a challenge. There are many barriers that might keep viewers from pushing the play button. If (and when) they've clicked play, do you know what keeps people watching? Why do they stop? What elements need to be in your videos to make sure they able to learn? The good news is that there are answers, best practices, and information to these and other questions to help you create videos that work.

The sounds of snores from the next cubical over are because Jerry had to take that old, stale compliance course. Anyone can phone it in, click "next", and answer "C" to every multiple choice question. But that video choose-your-own adventure course? Jerry's going to make decisions and see immediate feedback and consequences for his choices. He might even take the course again and again to see what the other outcomes he could get, giving him a fully-detailed understanding of the subject matter with just one lesson! Snores or engagement: which would you choose?

We all want to be able to show bottom line results from our training efforts. But how do you engage an on-the-go, never-at-their-desk sales force? At Cydcor, a face-to-face, outsourced sales company, engaging a busy learner base in a format that appealed to them was a challenge. Not only that, but the executive team was asking for tangible results. The team needed a fresh approach to meet the needs of the learners and the executive team—and quick!

The learning podcast boom is upon us. They've got a small learning curve, are inexpensive to produce, and are fun for people to consume. One of the most popular formats is the "interview format," in which the bulk of the podcast is comprised of back-and-forth interviews. Although this format is relatively easy to produce, it’s also easy for it to fall flat and become plagued with boring conversations. When these conversations fail to engage the listener, the learning objectives are also lost. So how do the pros do it?

We have all suffered through online learning content that featured poor audio and/or video. We suffered through it because the material was valuable. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself why anyone would sit through this? Why would anyone come back for more? And why don't I do something to improve the quality of my audio and video content for my learners?