Dive Brief:
- Purdue has seen success with its online courses by hiring actors who can be more engaging to watch than industry professionals.
- Campus Technology reports that the university cut the standard 20- to 40-minute lecture series by subject-matter experts in favor of 7-minute videos from actors contracted by a studio in Dallas.
- The shorter videos allow specific modules to be replaced easily to update courses, and, while the actor fees are relatively hefty, in some cases they’re cheaper than experts and their work gets better outcomes, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
When colleges and universities began experimenting with online courses, it was extremely common to see a duplication of classroom activities online. For lecture courses, that meant long videos of talking heads. Many students don’t find that engaging in person, let alone through a computer screen, where distractions are arguably more prevalent. Purdue’s shift to actors is a reflection of the continuous efforts to improve online coursework and the recognition that it can’t simply be a repeat of in-person design.