It makes perfect sense to start a lesson plan with a goal (Alexander 2018). This prevents educators from losing the thrust of their lessons and keeps students on track and solidly in progress on the needed material. 

Also, the nature of the goal itself may make several design decisions for the content creator before creation begins. Certain material may lend itself to one type of content rather than others, thus streamlining the design process and focusing creative efforts.

There are several good reasons to include interactivity such as pop-up panels or questions in educational video content. Mayer’s principles of multimedia design contain at least four principles that I feel relate directly to video production for education and the efficacy of such materials for educational use.

The Signalling Principle is the most obvious one of Mayer’s principles (Walsh 2017). It says that using cues or objects to draw attention to certain important aspects of the relevant content is an effective way to increase efficient uptake of that content. What else is a pop-up question but a cue which draws the viewer’s attention? 

The Temporal Contiguity Principle is also important here (Walsh 2017). When a pop-up object occurs along with the arrival of important content, the two events serve to reinforce the importance of that content and allow the user/viewer to engage in an activity which references the content, deepening the impression made on the viewer.

The Segmenting Principle is a natural result of the use of pop-ups (Walsh 2017). They serve as a check on the pace of the lesson, allowing the viewer more freedom to engage in a way which is comfortable and stress-reducing.

Here’s an instructional video from a great golf content creator, Rick Shiels. What it lacks in pop-up multiple-choice questions it makes up for with GREAT cues.

References

Shiels, Rick. (March 5, 2018). The Complete Fix Your Slice Guide – Overview [MP4]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQq9ncQUrwk

Walsh, Kelly. (July 20, 2017). Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning are a Powerful Design Resource. Retrieved from:https://www.emergingedtech.com/2017/06/mayers-12-principles-of-multimedia-learning-are-a-powerful-design-resource/

Alexander, Kevin. (2018). The Design Process – Multimedia and Interactive Learning. [MP3] Retrieved from:https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2021/01/31/topic-4-the-design-process-lesson-planning-feb-1-7/