We’ve all done it. Hesitated to make teacher created videos because your hair wasn’t right, your classroom felt messy, or you didn’t have “real” video equipment.
“I’ll create video once I have better tools.”
“I don’t want it to look unprofessional.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“I don’t want to look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t compare to those YouTube or Khan Academy videos.”
I get it. I was intimidated by video for years. I genuinely do not enjoy editing video, so I kept finding excuses to avoid it.
What finally pushed me past that hesitation wasn’t confidence; it was evidence. When I dug into the research, it became clear that teacher created videos are powerful. Not because they’re polished, but because they build connection.
I realized I had to get over my fears for my learners. I had to quit being self-conscious about what I looked or sounded like. (Secret: No one likes hearing themselves on recordings! You’re not alone.) I had to find the time.
And here’s what got me over the hump: The research shows that your presence matters far more than production quality. Your face and your voice as the teacher matter more than fancy lighting, professional mics, or perfect edits.
The final piece? Finding tools that made video creation quick and easy instead of a time-consuming production nightmare.
Lights! Teacher Created Videos Are About More Than Content
Of course we have to teach the content and reach proficiency of those standards. But the research overwhelmingly shows that teaching can’t be solely focused on content. At the heart of effective teaching is relationships.
Decades of research shows that:
- Student-teacher relationships are a critical component of student success
- Students are more academically engaged when they feel a sense of belonging
- Teacher interaction is directly linked to student achievement
Some researchers even cite that meaningful learning is severely limited without a teacher-student relationship!
But here’s the tension teachers live in every day: you’re expected to design engaging lessons, give immediate feedback, answer emails, communicate with caregivers, and somehow find the time to develop relationships with 30-200 students a day! That is a real challenge.
That’s where video comes to save the day.
There are studies that cite how teacher created videos increase student satisfaction and participation, and can even help develop what researchers call a “quasi-relationship” with students. There is even a study where online students reported feeling more connected with their teachers who utilized video than in traditional face-to-face teaching settings.
Teacher created videos create a space for students to:
- Feel your enthusiasm
- See your expressions
- Experience you as a real human being
The Power of Parasocial Relationships
I’m convinced Taylor Swift and I could be best friends. I have never been in the same physical space as her, but I connect emotionally to her music, her lyrics, and her presence as a powerhouse woman in a way that feels personal. That’s a parasocial relationship in action.
Think about:
- An actor you feel like you “know”
- A podcast host whose voice feels familiar
- An online creator who entertains you
Parasocial relationships are emotional bonds with online personalities. Even though you’ve never met the person on the other side of the screen, video can create a real sense of familiarity and connection.
That is the power of video! It allows you to scale yourself. There’s no way Taylor Swift can sit down one-on-one with every one of her millions of fans. But through her music videos and social media, she amplifies her presence and builds genuine connection with people she’ll never meet.
Now, here’s the important distinction: parasocial relationships are one-sided. Teacher-student relationships are not, and they shouldn’t be.
However, we can take lessons from parasocial relationships and apply them intentionally to teaching:
Video allows you to build, strengthen, and extend the teacher-student relationship beyond your limited classroom time.
Camera! Teacher Presence > Video Quality
Here’s what the research on teacher created video reveals: teacher presence beats production quality. In other words, students don’t need you to look like a YouTuber. They need you to look like their teacher.
Studies show that:
- Hearing and seeing the teacher is more important than watching a polished video
- The teacher being enthusiastic and upbeat matters more than video quality
That means:
You don’t need to become a professional video editor.
You don’t need expensive video equipment.
Your students just need you.
The teacher trumps quality every time.
The Perfect Take: How Long Should Teacher Created Videos Be?
Shorter is better.
The research points to a sweet spot of 30 seconds to 3 minutes. Learners of every age (kid to adult) lose engagement with videos after about the 3 minute mark.
If you have a lot of content to cover, it’s better to spread it out into a playlist of several shorter videos. It’s also easier for students to reference shorter videos and find the information they need. YouTube playlists are your best friend here!
What Can I Use Teacher Created Videos For?
The knee-jerk reaction of many teachers is to turn lectures into video. Turning content into videos is a great strategy. It allows students to reference the information at any point and listen at their own pace. This is a great strategy for universal design for learning. However, there are so many other ways you can utilize video as a teacher:
- Lesson introductions: Think about all the times you stand at the front of the classroom and explain what you are doing that day. Turn this into a video! A 60-second “here’s what we’re learning today and why you should care.”
- Instructions: Ever get tired of repeating instructions? Nah, that never happens in the classroom! (*sarcasm*) Create a video to walk students through complex tasks, and when you get asked the same question for the fifth time you can respond with: “It’s in the video!”
- Pep talks: A quick “I know this is challenging, but here’s why I believe in you” or “You matter” video before big projects or tests can shift culture and mindsets.
- Feedback: Instead of typing out comments, record quick personalized videos with a compliment sandwich: what they did well, what they could improve on, and another thing they did well.
These small moments of presence via video compound into a stronger sense of connection for students.
Tools to Get Started Creating Teacher Created Videos
There are so many video creation tools out there. It is easy to get overwhelmed. And many of them are made for professional video editors. Teachers: we are not and should not be professional video editors! (unless that is your passion and hobby… go for it!)
As I mentioned, I greatly dislike video editing. Over the years, I have tried many, many video tools. These are now my three go-tos:
- ScreenPal: My go-to for screencast videos. Perfect for quick screen recordings with or without your webcam. When you hit publish, the video is automatically uploaded to the cloud and you receive a sharable link. No downloading. No technical nightmares. ScreenPal has unlimited hosting too. That means you will never run out of space to upload videos.
- Canva: Not just for graphics. Canva has two video features I use consistently. One is the slide-by-slide recorder. It is so much easier and less intimidating to record one slide at a time. The other is the professional looking video templates that allow you to quickly and easily drop in your own video. And remember, Canva for Education is free for educators!
- Descript: If you want to step up your game a bit, Descript allows you to edit video by editing the transcript. It is fantastic. Imagine instead of editing within a video timeline you simply highlight text and hit delete, just like working in a word processing program like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
If you don’t need to share your screen, both iOS and Android phones now have a pause button built within the native camera app. This is a game-changer! It allows you to record quick snippets by hitting pause within one video file, rather than having to use a video editor to parse together multiple short clips.
There are many other video editing tools available:
- Adobe Suite: If your school utilizes the Adobe Creative Suite, it is chock-full of great video tools. I would start with Adobe Express and Adobe Animate.
- Screencastify: If you are a Google user, Screencastify is a great option for making screencast videos.
- WeVideo: A great web-based video editor for teachers and students.
Visual Summary
If you want a visual summary of the research behind teacher created video, download and print this two-page guide: Lights, Camera, Learning: What the Research Says About Teacher Created Video Infographic.
Action! Your Students Are Waiting for Their Director
Don’t overthink it. You probably have everything you need already: a phone camera, the microphone built into your laptop, and most importantly, YOU!
Your students don’t need a Netflix-quality production. They need to see you. Your face. Your voice. Your enthusiasm for the content and for them as human beings.
Teacher created videos aren’t about becoming a content creator. They’re about becoming more present in the spaces where learning happens.
Your students already trust you. Seeing you on video simply reinforces that trust.
So hit record.
Say the thing.
Be human.
Be you.
Your students are waiting. 🎬
More Research
Want to reference the studies cited in this post or dive deeper into what the research says about teacher created video? All of this research and more is detailed in my book, A Teacher’s Guide to Online Learning.
Here are a few of the studies referenced throughout the post:
- Diwanji, Prajakta, et al. “Success Factors of Online Learning Videos.”
- Doolittle, Peter E., et al. “Effects of Degree of Segmentation and Learner Disposition on Multimedia Learning.”
- Drouin, Michelle, and Lesa Rae Vartanian. “Students’ Feelings of and Desire for Sense of Community in Face-to-Face and Online Courses.”
- Guo, Phillip J., et al. “How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos.”
- Miller, Scott T., and Stephen L. Redman. “Improving Instructor Presence in an Online Introductory Astronomy Course through Video Demonstrations.”
- Northcote, Maria T. “Lighting Up and Transforming Online Courses: Letting the Teacher’s Personality Shine.”
- Swan, Karen. “Building Learning Communities in Online Courses: The Importance of Interaction.”
- Swan, Karen. “Learning Effectiveness: What the Research Tells Us.”
- Underdown, Kimber, and Jeff Martin. “Engaging the Online Student: Instructor Created Video Content for the Online Classroom.”
