Tips for Creating a Tutorial Video

Start with your print tutorial. You just did all the hard work! Use your finished print tutorial as a script. The steps can become your narration. You may need to write an introduction and conclusion to round out your script.

Use the best visuals you can. Keep high-quality versions of the images in a place where you can easily find them. This may be a shared drive so other Digital Ambassadors can also use them. Don't try to copy them from documents. Images can become reduced in quality when inserted into a document. Use the original, high-quality files.

Keep it short. Your print tutorial should be pretty short, perhaps one or two pages. Video tutorials should also be short. In a world of people familiar with YouTube and even shorter TikTok videos, many people will not watch long videos. Long = more than three (3) minutes. You might not be able to keep your tutorial under 30 seconds but try to keep your video to less than three (3) minutes. Your script will help! Stick to it and don't improvise.

Create Micro PD for longer tutorials. You may have a topic that you can't explain in three minutes. Consider creating multiple video tutorials and link them together as "Micro PD." (PD is short for Professional Development, which is what adults often take to learn new skills resources.) "Micro PD" is a fancy way to refer to a video playlist. (Here's an example of Micro PD about using Google Slides shared earlier.)

For example, say you're creating a tutorial on how to download pictures from your text messages and add to photos or print. Instead of creating a long video, create three short videos:

• Videos 1 and 2: How to download from text. Create an iOS video and an Android video.
• Video 3: How to add to Photos App
• Video 4: How to send photos to be printed

Include your print tutorial. Link to or otherwise share your print tutorial with your video tutorial. Some people will want to follow along and take notes. Some will appreciate having the reminder in print when they can't be at a screen watching the video. People who don't need the print tutorial just don't have to use it.

Create a tutorial video template. You can create a template for the Digital Ambassadors that includes approved colors and logos, suggested fonts, and contact information to display at the end. In PowerPoint, these can be separate slides. In video-editing software, you can import them as still images.

Where will you store your videos? People from outside the district cannot access district servers. Can the Digital Ambassadors create a website, like a Google Site, or their own YouTube site? You will use a district-approved solution. Whatever solution you arrive at, be sure you and the audience you're working with can easily access the videos.

If you do create a YouTube channel for the Digital Ambassadors, you can easily create playlists for related videos. Keep the following tips in mind:

• Name your videos consistently in a way that will help viewers easily find the right tutorial.
• Use Digital Ambassador brandings, like logos and colors.
• Create all videos in a consistent manner so they are easy to follow.
• Each video should be short and focus on a single topic.