AD VAL NEWS

Video - a new dynamic in training? 

Video has never looked better for cost-effective training delivery. 

Richard Bunning of AdVal Learning Solutions looks at a re-born medium for the TV generation ... 

People say there is nothing new about using video in training. Yet in truth, its time is just arriving.

Video is easier and cheaper to make. We are more receptive to it than ever.

Cameras and editing kit are now digital, so not only is the image and sound reproduction quality pristine, but production cost has fallen dramatically. Nowadays, a professional quality training video can cost as little as £600 per minute to make. 

Distribution is inexpensive now. 

Blank DVDs cost pennies, DVD players are selling for under £30, duplication is low cost and high quality, the same discs that play in DVD machines and TVs also work on laptops or desk PCs.

And DVD isn't the only way to distribute video. Most office networks can support video running over existing cabling and with millions of homes now on broadband, it's now possible to "stream" video over the Internet. 

Or if you want to go the whole hog, a satellite company will broadcast video on the SKY TV system for as little as £500 per hour.

Video can be a standalone training solution on DVD, part of a blended e-learning solution delivered through a computer network, or used within a face-to-face training programme to support teaching. 

But the greater relevance of video in the training mix is not purely down to low cost. It works as a 'natural' training medium because we are now naturally receptive to it. 

We are the children of television. 

We live in a broadcast age, where the moving image and sound inherently require less processing effort by the brain than the act of reading because they work by direct sensory input. 

The audio-visual senses are a hard-wired capability of Homo Sapiens that has evolved to process 80% of all incoming sensory information. We receive orders of magnitude and more information and still process and understand it using a fraction of the effort required to read.

We get a huge amount of extra information beyond the scripted words through body language, facial expression and tone of voice. All give us much more than the written word alone can convey.

It's the power of this communication to influence our attitudes and perceptions that video brings to a learning situation. 

The written word and even the still image deprive us of vital body language "clues" that we need to make our sub-conscious predictions. This may not matter much in the context of teaching someone how to disassemble and service an engine, but it matters a lot where there are behavioural or motivational issues, such as in customer care training or staff interactions.

Many of the most respected teachers from history had reputations based on their abilities as storytellers. 

It is the capability of audio-visual media to suspend the disbelief of an audience to tell stories either through dramatisation, documentary or even animation, that allows the teacher - i.e. the video producer & director – to address the audience in a controlled way. 

Is it for you? 

Distributed Video may replace costs borne by face-to-face ongoing training and the hidden indirect costs of staff travel, accommodation and lost work time. 

If it can be re-used for 3-5 years, then the annual cost of training new staff in the topic will be saved each year. 

If video improves the competence levels of the target audience and their retention of the learning content, then the costs of remedial/refresher training will be lower and the business performance enhanced. 

For complex technical and procedural training, video may be the only cost effective way to train.

If the training requires a "hearts & minds" element to convince people of the need for change then it could be argued that video alone has the power to get the message over strongly enough to do this.

Can production budget be shared within your organisation? Establish whether there are other business needs that could benefit from using the video footage, in full or part.

For example, training video can be re-purposed for marketing and communication uses. 

Finally, consider whether the planning, development and production is best out-sourced to professionals. 

Fitting all the required learning outcomes together to make a coherent complete video requires particular expertise that you may not have available in-house.

Television and video are in theory one and the same, but the skills and methods used in producing TV for a mass audience are significantly different to those needed for training applications. 

Training video is about delivering learning solutions. Good training video production companies are trainers first and video producers second, and not the other way around. Care should be taken in selecting a supplier that meets this profile.

Look at the track record of possible partners, reviewing previous work and in particular how effectively they have delivered to their audience the training need, the business context and the learning outcomes.

Look for development process. The right approach is to use a process that ensures "no surprises" with a high level design incorporating a treatment that explains what will be covered in the video and clearly spells out its objectives. 

Technical quality matters - so ensure your production team is working to full broadcast TV technical standards and has the experience and skills to deliver a quality production.

Richard Bunning is Creative Director AdVal Learning Solutions, which provides bespoke learning and operates an in-house video production division. 

More information at www.adval.co.uk

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