AI Video Tools

When to use AI videos for teaching?

The obvious appeal to these services is they take a process that can be time-consuming and hard to learn--recording yourself--and allow a machine to do the work for you. This can be a huge benefit! But just like using video in general, it's important to think through whether the tools actually serve your learning objectives.

Consider some of the primary reasons to record video in your teaching:

1. To offer asynchronous content outside of class meetups for "flipped" classrooms or hybrid and online courses.

2. To cover content that especially benefits from visuals, like worked examples, software demonstrations, or lessons based around visual frameworks.

3. To offer faculty presence and foster a sense of connection with your students.

Let's look at how AI video applies to each of these needs:

1. AI videos can certainly generate asynchronous content. However, just because the video is easier to produce, consider whether it is the best medium. If you had to record the video in a traditional way, would you still produce it in this format?

2. If material needs accompanying visuals, then AI generation can expedite some portions of the process like creating narration. But you'll still need to combine that narration with the appropriate slides or visuals, with correct timing. Many AI video platforms allow for this, but it still requires time on your part-- the entire video cannot be automated.

3. An automated video, even if it bears your likeness, is unlikely to foster a sense of connection with students. At present, these services still bear some hallmarks of artificiality. Students will know it's AI. And if they didn't, that would pose serious concerns about transparency.

Consider the value the video adds to your student's experience. If all you're doing is automatically generating a narrated version of text content, then it is, at best, a convenience feature. And students can replicate that functionality on their own with tools like Speechify, ElevenReader, or NaturalReader.

Recommendations for use

AI may still not be the best idea for creating complete teaching videos from scratch. Where it can be incredibly helpful is as a part of a larger workflow.

Using a cloned voice, for example, might allow you to correct an error or mispronunciation in a video without going back to re-record it. Or you may be able to use AI to generate narration for a video but pair that narration with slides and visuals you've created more carefully on your own. One notable platform in this regard is Descript, which is featured elsewhere in this guide. Descript is still structured around recording your own content, but features many helpful AI-enabled tools to speed up recording and editing.

If you are going to generate AI video, consider whether duplicating your own likeness is the best option. You may want to consider creating a "Virtual TA," in order to maintain a clear separation between content that features you and content that uses AI material.

However you approach using these materials, transparency with your students is vital. Be sure to communicate where and how you're using AI-generated content. This not only helps maintain trust with your students. It models the behavior you expect from them as they complete coursework and assignments.