Introduce Your Syllabus with a Video

So you have a terrific syllabus that you have finally perfected. You are confident that it has the information your students need to succeed in the course. The only problem? It’s so long! Are you

Ben Arbaugh introducing his course by touching on a few items from the syllabus.

worried that your busy students will just glance at the syllabus without reading it?

One solution to this common problem is a three birds/one stone solution: create a syllabus intro video. In the video, you might talk about the syllabus the same way you would in a face-to-face class. You would highlight important information in the syllabus and remind them in future times of confusion to consult the syllabus first to see if the answer lies therein. You can encourage them to ask any questions about the syllabus in the Raise Your Hand discussion forum. This video could go in your Welcome Note, or it can accompany the syllabus in the Course Information module under content.

What are the three birds?

• A syllabus video allows students to see your face, hear your voice, and feel more engaged in the class. Engaged students tend to learn more.
• You can highlight the important information in the syllabus, making sure they know about the important information on page 3.
• Instructors are often concerned with personalizing online courses, especially those designed by someone else. A video brings your own personal touch to the course.

The video doesn’t have to be fancy, it could be something you recorded using the webcam on your laptop, although higher production values are always appreciated.

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Katie Venit

I received my B.A. in English with a minor in Journalism from Wake Forest University and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University Bloomington. I see the role of an instructional designer as one that removes barriers to learning online content. Those barriers might be ones of accessibility, clarity, motivation, or something else that we discover as the online education continues to be refined. My job is to collaborate with instructors to make their content shine.

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