What are video instructions and why should you use them?

The use of video instructions in the manufacturing environment is becoming common over the last two decades. Video when used appropriately can be a powerful teaching medium. Videos grab workers’ attention and can also be a strong motivator for learning. Over the years, videos have gained popularity on the Web. They are often used as a medium of presenting materials that incorporate multimedia content for e-learning.

The benefits of using video

Interactive videos allow employees to have repetitive viewing. They can pause and replay the content as needed to help their understanding and improve information retention. Video allows workers to learn at their own pace, their own time, and in the comfort of their own environments. Videos also provide a way for them to learn independently without relying on others for help. Today, with the affordability and variety of technology has to offer, it seems that videos are suitable for the manufacturing environment.

There is also probably a reason that no one reads your instructional documentation. Text-heavy instructions, even with images, are rarely read thoroughly, if at all. It’s so much easier to watch a video that both visually shows a process and also walks a viewer through the steps. Many of the manufacturing companies that we’re working with are aiming to take their instruction manuals and create a video series for their main product lines. Workers can access these instructions directly from the line or from the training classrooms. This way easy-to-understand instructions are always just a click away. There are many more reasons why you should switch to video.

The challenge with video instructions

The downside of using video instruction is the long development time needed compared to the development time needed for a written instruction. Besides hardware and software issues, instructors need to have knowledge of video authoring,
instructional design skills, and creativity to create good videos. With tools like REWO, this is becoming a whole lot easier. REWO allows you to quickly turn a video into step-by-step instruction. It takes a matter of minutes and without any special technical skills.