Content Creation
Audio and video provides a human element and alternate method to delivering content to your students. Given the variety of students at KPU and keeping in mind the accessibility of content for your students, it is highly recommended to keep your media content short and concise. Below are resources that will guide you to create engaging content.
Audio and Video Development Resources
Be sure to check out the Create Media section of the Using Moodle page. There you will find resources on creating audio lessons, recording lectures with video, how to effectively upload media files to Moodle via your computer or smartphone, and how to simply edit your videos in Kaltura.
Best Practices for Video
A number of things to look out for when creating your content:
- Keep it short! (5-6mins is the optimal engagement time for educational videos) If you have a long lesson, perhaps consider splitting them into mini-lessons.
- If you are not making your own videos, use videos that are captioned or has a transcript (accommodating students with needs).
- Do not use video as your only delivery method.
- Record with clear audio (with an external microphone) and in a well-lit environment (natural light works best)!
Open Educational Resources (OER) FAQ
OER are any type of resources that have been designed for use in teaching and learning and that are: 1) freely available at any time and 2) published with an open license that enable users to reuse, revise, remix, retain, and redistribute them (commonly referred to as the "5Rs"). This could include images, videos, worksheets, handouts, and of course textbooks.
Open textbooks are available to students free of cost in digital formats. Many open textbooks are accompanied with ancillary resources such as question banks, slides, instructor manuals, and adaptive quizzing platforms.
Where to find OER to use in your online courses
There are many places where you can locate high quality OER. We recommend these to get started:
- KPU Library resources for remote delivery
- the State University of New York's OASIS meta - search tool
- BCcampus
- MERLOT
Where to find images
There are many places online to find free images that you can use. To be safe, remember to always double-check the licensing conditions of individual items.
Creative Commons Search
A meta-search tool. Can be used to find CC-licensed images on Google Images, Fotopedia, Europeana, etc.
Flickr Creative Commons Search
Look under the “Additional Info” on an image page for licensing info and terms of use
Pixabay and Unsplash
Free high-resolution stock photos depicting a wide variety of subjects.
Wikimedia Commons
20 million freely usable image, sound, and video files. All files are Public Domain or CC-licensed. Check the “Licensing” section for an image to find any terms and conditions for reuse / instructions on attribution.
Visit the Open Educational Resources guide for more information on OER and where to find them.
If you require any assistance or have any questions about the resources found, please contact the KPU Open Team or your liaison librarian.