Video Software Club

First to Draw Ltd – Whiteboard Animation used in Education

We have this big challenge today is how to engage people when technology is actually competing for their attention. In so many different ways, one of the things we can learn from is the research I think into whiteboard videos. We already know that video is a powerful means of communication, it’s the language of young people, and we also know that scribe videos or whiteboard videos that style of animation is particularly effective. It’s a form of multimedia that increases problem-solving by up to 75 percent. We did our own tests on this and when it comes to memory tests, we found that people who watch scribe videos are up to eighteen percent better at recalling information and that’s across all ages. So if you take the figures just for young people, that figure is even higher. These are incredibly popular videos. This style is loved.

If you look at the RSA Animate series, those education scribe videos that have over 50 million views on YouTube, not quite as many as Gangnam style. But still, if you look at those they’re so popular that the psychologist Richard Wiseman investigated what it was about them. That grabs people’s attention so much what he found was that for the information presented in that style, there’s an average of 15 percent increase in remembering information compared to ordinary talking head videos, so a fifteen percent increase is huge. I don’t know if that sounds a lot to you, but Wiseman puts it this way. Normally you have to work incredibly hard to get five. Maybe ten percent increase in any kind of behavioral measure like that, simply by animation, you’re, seeing a 15-percent increase, but why? What did he conclude was the reason for that boost. He actually suggested two reasons.

Firstly, that scribe videos get attention and hold attention in an incredibly engaging way, and that means the information simply goes in.

The second reason was that great videos are fun, they’re enjoyable, and you may not think that would make a difference, but he puts it this way that you’d do anything better when you’re in a good mood, now he’s the guy who discovered the world’s funniest joke. Apparently so he should know whiteboard animations are fun, it’s a fun style. They put people in a good mood again.

Wiseman said: suddenly it’s not so much work. It not only makes them have a better time. More importantly, it means the information is just going in. So when you look around your classroom, are you seeing people in a good mood? Is it a place of fun? Are you seeing happy faces desperate to learn? One teacher told us her students clap at the end of her whiteboard videos and that they get withdrawal symptoms from watching them, and so they go home and watch them at the weekends. The good news is that it’s not just fun for students, they are fun for teachers to you know so. Planning making resources are suddenly a lot more enjoyable. I’m sure there are other reasons for the effect of the scribe video and learning but grabbing and holding attention making learning enjoyable. They go a long way to explaining that huge boost in learning.

Read More: Benefits of a Greenboard Animation Video