Use of Highlights (Signaling)

• Highlight key concepts - Use 2 or 3 key words, a change in color or contrast, or a symbol that draws attention to a part of the screen (e.g. an arrow)  (Brame 2015)

Length of Video (Segmenting)

• Chunk information into smaller parts to allow learners to engage with small pieces and to control the flow of new information (Brame 2015)

• Shorter videos are more engaging - segment videos into chunks shorter than 6 minutes (Guo, et al, 2014)

Reducing Extraneous Elements (Weeding)

• Eliminate interesting but extraneous (and distracting) information from video (Brame 2015)

• Changes as the learner moves from novice toward expert status - if it's too simple for the expert, that can be distracting, so consider level of learner (Brame 2015)

• Using static images and animations are correlated to effectiveness (ten Hove et al 2015)

Matching Modalities 

• Use both audio and video channels to convey new information in the most appropriate and complementary way (e.g. animation of a process with narration rather than animation with printed text) (Brame 2015)

• Avoid giving redundant information via the two channels

• When telling a story show the storyteller's face or an animation of the story (Brame 2015)

• Use visuals to explain how to work through a problem (e.g. Khan step by step problem solving ) or an illustration when speaking about something abstract (Brame 2015)

Animations and Movement

• Animations are correlated to effectiveness (ten Hove et al 2015)

• Motion and continuous visual flow is engaging (Guo, et al 2014)

• Learners prefer hand-writing in screencasting videos, but  consider typefaces more legible (Cross et al 2013)

Style of Video

• High-definition production is correlated to effectiveness  (ten Hove et al 2015)

• The Khan drawing style is more engaging than static slides or coding sessions (Guo et al 2014)

• The direct classroom recording does not work well online (Guo, Kim, and Rubin 2014)

Instructor Presence

• Use a conversational tone to personalize the instructor (Meyer 2008) 

• Speak with enthusiasm and at a fast pace (Guo 2014)

• Videos using slides should include a talking person (Guo et al 2014), or the speaker's face, whether constant or moderate, such as at the beginning and end of the presentation (Kizilcec, et al, 2015)

• Learners prefer a real or animated human avatar over a real or animated robot when used as a replacement for an instructor's talking head, but recall rates were mixed  (Li, et al, 2016)

• Learners prefer a human-like (e.g., voice, eye-contact, and gestures) animated character and particularly prefer a human voice to a computerized one (Mayer, et al, 2012)

Learner Control

• Use media players that give learners the ability to pause, rewind, fast forward, see chapters,

• Add labels in large fonts throughout the video to support rewatching and skimming (Guo et al, 2014)

Active Learning and Assessment

• Have learners answer guiding questions about the video and give feedback about answers for better recall (Merkt 2011)

• Provide students with a question in the middle of a video and prompt them to click forward after completion. (Brame 2015)