The idea of shooting video for training seems daunting to many learning professionals. Video is frequently seen as (and often is) an expensive solution in the enterprise. At the same time, video capture, creation, and editing capability is more affordable and readily available than ever. High definition videocameras, with very good optics, have become inexpensive. And as the quality of smartphone cameras continues to improve, good video capture devices are literally in the palm of our hands.

You’ve just created a terrific training video for a mobile eLearning experience. The video is wonderful, the soundtrack is stellar, but the feedback you’re getting isn’t the greatest. Many members of your learning audience are telling you they’re having a hard time understanding what they’re seeing and hearing. After you’ve done a little research, you found out that a majority of the learners watching and interacting with your training content are viewing it on a tablet and listening through headphones or earbuds. You listened to the video through your own earbuds and are having a hard time hearing everything yourself! Why?

Instructional designers and developers usually lack a basic understanding of copyright law and fair use, but are expected to be experts. Copyright training, if available, is often boring and functionally useless. Equally critical, the ID community doesn’t know how to find and use photos, video, and music properly. The continuing struggle to quickly develop content may lead us to infringe upon someone else’s work, expose our work to unpleasant legal action, and miss out on using free media to enhance our projects.

Mobile technologies have revolutionized how knowledge is captured in almost every industry. Today anyone can point a device and record information. The problem isn’t how to use mobile technology to capture knowledge; it’s how to manage and share all the mobile video that’s recorded. Multiple standards exist and continue to evolve. The range of recording devices has left video files that can’t easily be accessed, edited, and viewed on any device. What’s needed is a means to standardize all this content without asking content producers to reshoot all their videos.

Many people know that mobile devices can be used for training, but are unsure of how to develop engaging content that is well suited for mobile devices. The use of visuals to enhance learning is important, but understanding how best to use visuals in a mobile environment can be a challenge.