Video topic setup (1) – topic selection and structure

THE TRAINER POINT OF VIEW

Having said in an earlier post that the smaller the learning unit gets the better the trainer needs to prepare such a topic, I would like to share with you how I approach the creation of a new video.

1. Select the topic

This sounds much easier than it actually is. The topic should not be too big or small. You need to be able to cover every angle of it within a maximum of 15 minutes. Also, if this topic ties in with other topics, there needs to be a logical sequence or each topics needs to be self-explaining to be able to stand alone.

Example: Topic = XML in translation

Too big -> split up into: XML basics, XML filter creation, XML in tool A, XML in tool B, multilingual XML, specialized XML like XLIFF or TMX, details in XML (attributes, elements, conditions, entities)…

2. Decide on the sequence.

Decide on the general structure (for learning purposes, it is useful to have the same structural setup for every video). Here is what I came up with:

• Introduction (what is it good for, when do we use it, what will you learn to do…)
• Setting the stage (give the basic background information a user needs to understand the following explanations: examples of when such a feature would be used, describe the situation when this feature might come in handy…)
• Technical groundwork(information on what the feature does, what kind of input it needs and what kind of output is to be expected)
• The show (video or slides with screenshots of the process)
• Conclusion (summarize the process, what goes in, what happens, what goes out, when is it useful)
• But wait, there’s more (additional information on pitfalls, things to consider, mistakes that can be made, things this feature cannot do)

Example: This is roughly what I would do, if the topic was “Analysis Statistics”.

What do you think? Looking forward to your feedback.

Angelika

(Trainer for translation tools since 1997)