Quick Guide to Instructional Media Design

Section-specific Media (short-term use)	Content-based Media (long-term use)
Make an announcement Preview the week ahead Summarize the previous week Summarize a forum discussion Respond to student questions Introduce yourself to students Introduce the course	Explain a concept Synthesize course content Give an example Demonstrate a skill or process Interview an expert Lecture on a topic not covered elsewhere in the course

Selecting Existing Media	Creating New Media
Is the content current? Does the production quality interfere with comprehension? Is it easily accessible to students? Will it be accessible for the foreseeable future? Does it support my learning outcomes and course activities?	Is the best option to create a video or slide presentation? What content will I present? How long will it take to present the content? How can my content be “chunked” into short segments? What descriptive titles will I use for each segment? What is the best media type for each presentation’s content?

Increase viewing

Sustainability

Content is integral to students’ ability to succeed in their course work
Content is unique; it does not repeat other required resources
Content is engaging, meaningful for learning, and well-organized
Content is segmented into short (6-10 minute), discrete segments/topics
Focus on synthesis of concepts, explain difficult concepts, make application, tell relevant stories to make learning stick
Audio quality is good
Video quality is good
Slides align with the audio

Avoid specific course-centric language
Avoid referencing time/location-related events (e.g., weather, sports)
Avoid saying how many years ago something happened; reference the exact date instead
Avoid including assignment instructions in content-based videos.
Use strategies that allow you to easily update your content (e.g., well-organized, segment your content)