We are seeing more students coming into our classes who want to learn how to create visual content for social media – whether these are videos or infographics – we as professors have to explore and test out some of these tools to see what works and what doesn’t.
I have of course been a fan of creating infographic assignments for my students, which actually resulted in a research collaboration with two great PR professors (Tiffany and Gee). Our research not only got Top Teaching Award for AEJMC PRD, but it is now published in Public Relations Journal and will be presented as a top published paper at the PRSA International Conference in November.
With that being said – there a ton of tools to look at for creating visual infographics as graphics, but what about video infographics? What tools are out there for professors and students to use? Sure, we can use InDesign or pay for a program that is pretty expensive for classroom use.
Have no fear – I found a great tool and platform for professors to use in creating some simple but effective video infographics. The site is called Biteable, and this is probably one of the easiest tools I have used creating video.
Before we get into the benefits of Biteable, what are some of the challenges?
- Established Templates: The templates are pretty straight forward with some customized slides, but not too much. Again, there are some good features here to take a note of and this is a tool that is used to get your foot in the door when it comes to creating video infographics.
- Somewhat user friendly: It does take some time to get the videos all set up, but once you get them, you are able to edit them a bit. They do have great tutorials here as well.
- Videos have a BIG watermark on them: I totally understand this, but wanted to point this out to you all. With the free version, you have the Biteable watermark on your video. In order to get this taken off, you have to pay $$$ per video. That’s the only thing to note.
Okay, so at least we know what we need to be aware of – so let’s talk about the opportunities and classroom assignment activities and exercises we can use this platform for:
- Information trailers for classes: If you are looking to increase your enrollment for a class, what better way than creating a video to highlight some of the activities here? This is what I did for my first video for my social media class this spring (#Freberg16).
- Intro trailers for guest speakers: Photos and updates shared with a hashtag are one way to go about in doing this, but what if you were to create a speaker announcement bio in a format of a video? Cool!
- Research Findings for Campaign: Having your students work on a research project? Have them create a short video infographic with some of the findings they had in their research for their client!
- Video inspired takeaways from students from lecture: Having the students create a video infographic to highlight 1) key concepts learned, 2) time management and concise writing skills, and 3) visualization of information in a form of a story.
- Video infographic introductions for students: What a great way for students to introduce themselves to each other and the global community!
If you need more ideas on how you can use this new tool, make sure to check these out as well. In summary, while I am still a big supporter of traditional infographics, I think it is important for students to get a range of skills under their belt as they prepare entering the workplace.
Biteable is a free and easy using tool – and it will at least bring forth an awareness among the students there are tools out there to create video infographics. Plus, this will help them learn the basics in creating a story through graphics and information in a classroom setting.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
