Now that the move to a fully online learning mode has been made mandatory, MQ academics have been asked to delve into recording course materials on audio and video.

If you are pre-recording video lecture content you may find that some concepts are complex to explain over a webcam or screen recording of a powerpoint presentation.

If students are falling asleep during their iLearn lectures, maybe it’s time to add a bit more movement and flair to their online learning experience. How about using infographics that move? Or beautifully transitioning image montages?

Using animations can help you bring these concepts to life and keep your students engaged.

Preparation (of a script) is key

Firstly, it is crucial to the animation process to prepare a script.

An editing script is a useful tool which you can use to organise both spoken audio and visual ideas. See this useful LinkedIn Learning video: The Editing Script

Once your script is ready, you can consider these two options (of many) for adding animated visuals; DIY animation, or, collaborating with internal production staff.

DIY Animation

There are a variety of tools available, with varying degrees of learning difficulty and results. Some of the more popular tools you can explore are:

These types of software can help you to quickly get your ideas out in a more engaging format than just a face-to-camera recording or static Powerpoint slides.

Please note these are not MQ-supported software so any technical issues will need to be communicated to the respective software providers.

Collaborating with the Educational Media Production team

If you are looking to produce something more bespoke with adherence to Macquarie’s visual brand identity, the Educational Media Production team at the LIH are proficient in animation and can assist with creating videos for your units.

The team have produced animations for online courses such as the Big History MOOC (including the Solving Complex Problems specialisation) and Excel skills for Business MOOC, and various MQ units such as Radiographic Anatomy, Marketing studies and PACE.

The process for collaboration is as follows:

  1. Contact the Educational Media Production (Ed Media) team with your requirements
  2. The team will get in touch for a consultation session. If a collaboration is mutually agreed upon^, then
  3. the Ed Media team will work with you to create visuals to suit the type of educational media you aim to produce to support your students’ learning journey.

    ^ NOTE: This service is provided by the Learning Innovation Hub at no cost to your faculty or office, provided that there is a mutual agreement with both parties.

If you’d like to request a consultation with the Ed Media team, please get in touch with the team at lih-sst@mq.edu.au with your requirements.

Posted by Mike Catabay

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