If you’re managing or designing digital learning experiences, you are probably well aware of all the benefits of using video. But today learners expect to do more than just sit back and watch video content. Traditional video allows them to press stop, pause, and play but they need deeper engagement today.
Adding interactive elements makes them feel more as though they’re playing a game than learning. They have to make choices, take tests, or discover hidden elements. This creates curiosity, which motivates them to continue instead of dropping off.
Interactive video e-learning takes learning to a whole new level. Learners become problem solvers and have to make decisions rather than just watching passively. Whether you’re designing online courses and modules for corporate training, using interactive videos will make all the difference to how learners understand content and retain information.
What does interactive video bring to the learning process?
Unlike traditional videos, learners have to perform actions when they engage with interactive video. As an e-learning designer or provider, you have to figure out how to get learners to take action.
- Give them decisions to make and allow them to see the consequences. They learn how to make the right decisions by a process of trial and error.
- Give learners options to click and see hidden content or go to related resources. An overlay adds context after a learner clicks a hotspot and can include text, images, etc.
- Find ways to offer learners feedback as soon as they take an action. This reinforces knowledge while it’s still fresh.
- Offer learners more control over the learning process. They should be able to learn in a way and at a pace that suits them.
The use of interactive video aligns with many educational theories. Learners always remember more when they engage cognitively and have to put what they learn into practice straight away. Studies show that active engagement leads to better knowledge retention and higher performance in tests.
The Cincopa video hosting platform allows you to add many interactive elements into your videos. Quizzes, annotations, and CTAs are just a few that encourage learner participation. The platform takes care of all the technical elements for you to ensure your videos work across devices and internet conditions.
Examples of interactive elements
1. Branching scenarios
Branching scenarios offer learners choices that affect what they see next. They influence the outcome so they are participants rather than just spectators.
Imagine a compliance training video where employees have to decide how to handle a data breach. The choices they make result in different outcomes. They can learn from making the wrong choices and seeing the results.
Branching video education is extremely effective in areas like leadership, sales, ethics, and customer service. In healthcare training participants may be able to choose between different diagnoses or treatments and learn from the outcomes.
2. Embedded quizzes
Inserting quizzes into your videos helps to break up content and reinforce key concepts. When you insert a number of quizzes with thought-provoking questions at critical points, it helps to consolidate understanding.
Quizzes can come in many forms, from multiple-choice questions to scenario-based assessments. Having to complete them allows learners to see how much they understand the content. You may even set a minimum score learners must attain before they go forward.
The feedback helps you to understand where learners succeed or struggle. Access to video messaging gives you a means to communicate with learners and offer support or additional materials.
An interactive video quiz may focus on a real-life scenario and even include an AI avatar to guide learners. The avatar will guide them through a series of questions with multiple choices. They must choose the best answer, and if they’re right, they unlock the following question.
3. In-video prompts and hotspots
Active learning videos may include in-video prompts that encourage learners to reflect, click, or explore a specific part of a screen.
Clickable hotspots may reveal hidden information. For example, learners may click on different parts of a human organ to find out what they do. They may hover over a machine to learn more about its components. A click can also take learners to further information on a website or to another video.
The use of 360-degree video allows you to create video tours or other training experiences for employees. They can click or drag the environment to explore it in all directions.
Using these elements in interactive training videos encourages learners to explore and reinforce the connection between what they see and what they understand.
Benefits of interactive video
If you invest time and resources into interactive video, you will see better outcomes.
Stronger engagement
An interactive video combats distraction and encourages critical thinking. It ensures that learners stay mentally present. This is especially important with asynchronous learning. It is easier for them to stay present with synchronous learning, where you use live streaming and engage with them via chat. When employees engage more in corporate training, it makes them more productive and ultimately leads to better business results.
Personalization and adaption
Using the right interactive video tools makes it possible to offer personalization and adaptation. For example, learners may be able to select video content relevant to their job roles or goals.
Flexibility enhances learning as learners can move at a pace that suits them. They can focus on areas where they know they’re weaker and close knowledge gaps faster. Learners can customize their learning paths, whether this means sticking to core topics or exploring additional material.
An interactive video may be able to adapt in real time based on learner choices or preferences. This means you can offer remedial paths for learners who struggle and advanced content for high performers.
A helpful tool in microlearning
Microlearning allows learners to absorb course content in small doses that don’t exceed their attention span. With the use of on-demand short-term videos, learners can control the flow of information. They remember more when they can slowly build on their knowledge step by step. Short interactive videos that focus on a single topic are also faster and easier to produce.
Accessible and inclusive
Interactive videos remove a number of barriers to learning. Most of them have subtitles and transcripts. This means that learners with hearing problems or those who speak foreign languages are able to understand them. Learners who want to watch in a busy environment can do so without audio.
Better learning retention and outcomes
Studies show that interactive learning improves retention rates by up to about 60%. It improves the time learners spend on tasks and content completion. Assessment performance also improves as learners have more opportunities to come to grips with complex topics. When you give learners control over their learning journey, you reinforce deeper cognitive processes, which are crucial for long-term retention.
Real-time data and feedback
Interactive video gives you plenty of rich data to use. Gathering data like contact information and survey responses helps to inform your future marketing efforts.
Tracking how learners interact with your videos gives you insights to help you improve your content. Here are some of the questions you can answer by looking at the data.
- Where in a video do learners lose interest or drop off?
- How do learners perform in quizzes?
- What decisions do learners make in branching scenarios?
- How long do learners spend on different modules?
- Do learners complete surveys or polls?
On the Cincopa platform, you have access to advanced analytics to track engagement with your interactive videos. With its heatmaps you see a second-by-second breakdown of engagement. This gives you valuable insights that help you to improve your interactive video content.
Conclusion: Interactivity as the Future of E-Learning
As the EdTech landscape keeps evolving, it’s very clear that interactive video e-learning is the future. Learners want more control over their learning journeys. When you offer an immersive learning experience, you will have better outcomes. The Cincopa platform helps you to turn passive learners into active ones. Go to the home page and sign up for a free trial to explore how it enables interactive learning.
