Multimedia Lesson Design: Break it Up

How should we design our multimedia lessons or flipped lessons. Well Richard Mayer's research shows that

people learn better when we break up our lessons into bite size learning segments instead of one longer cohesive presentation.

Practical Tips:

1. Make a short video on each small concept and hyperlink the videos to a lesson page for each separate concept.

2. Take your video and break it into 3-5 short ones.

3. Give controls to the learner, allow them to choose how fast or slow to take in the concepts.

This allows for improved learning, but also built in differentiation a challenge for all teachers.


Here is my vlog explaining the segmenting principle and AR apps:

Flip the Classroom: Tips for Success

1. Keep it short or Break it up
Students will be far more engaged if the content is short and to the point. Another option is to make each point or idea a different video and stream them together. Also you can break up a video and make it interactive. YouTube editor, Blendspace, and other online tools can help edit your video and make it more engaging for learning.

2. Perfection is overrated
Your goal is for the students to learn the content. We probably say "um" in the class so don't feel the "um" in the video is a reason to start over. Be natural, you are the content expert, just present your content on video or screencast. Time is precious if you aim for perfection you will not be able to produce the content needed to flip the classroom.

3. A little at a time
Don't try to flip your entire curriculum. Take it one step at a time. You didn't perfect your curriculum in one year. Why would you be able to put all your curriculum on video or online.  Be patient, it's a process.

4. Teach your student "How to Learn" with a flipped lesson and why it is valuable
Don't assume students know how to use media to learn your content. Yes, they watch videos on YouTube, but that is for entertainment. We must teach them to watch to learn, similarly to how we teach them to read to learn. Teaching students strategies are critical to success.

Below is a video where I discuss my tips, how I am flipping a lesson, and the article  "Nine Video Tips for a Better Flipped Classroom" by David Raths.