Many educators struggle to convey content in a way that will captivate audiences. Traditional methods of teaching often fail to accomplish this task as they may not work effectively to capture attention, leading to disengagement and ineffective learning.
By leveraging the power of animation, educators and course designers can transform dull topics into dynamic visual narratives that work much better than the “traditional classroom”.
In this article on how to create an educational animation video, we’ll guide you through the essential steps of the process and highlight popular tactics that will help to make your animated video even more engaging for digital learners 💻
Summary
- Key benefits of animation in e-learning
- How is animation used in education?
- 9 steps on creating your animated video for e-learning
- Integrating animated videos into learning experience
- How Blue Carrot can help your business
- Conclusion
Key benefits of animation in e-learning
📌 Enhances engagement
Generally, videos are considered to be more engaging compared to other types of media, like graphics, still slides, or texts. Studies show viewers tend to retain 95% of information when watching videos, compared to a retention rate of only 10% for reading text (2023 Report: Most Important Marketing Stats in the Software & SaaS Industry, Insivia, 2022).
Moreover, videos enhanced with animation capture attention more effectively due to their dynamic combination of visuals and storytelling, making the content more relatable. Additionally, using animated characters helps maintain students’ interest and increase their motivation to stay engaged throughout the course.
📌 Allows to simplify complex Ideas
Animated learning videos can effectively break down even the most intricate concepts into easily digestible segments. Animations can depict abstract ideas through relatable scenarios or visual metaphors, making it easier for learners to grasp and remember the content.
When it comes to demonstrating processes or specific mechanisms in action, animation for education allows viewers to see how different components interact in real time. Providing the learner with a better understanding of the particular sequences and relationships within specific isolated systems.
This dynamic visual representation clarifies how each part contributes to the whole, making complex ideas more accessible. For example, in fields like engineering or biology, custom animations can depict mechanical functions or cellular processes that would be challenging to convey through static images or text alone. This enhanced clarity not only aids comprehension but also fosters retention, as learners can visualize and contextualize the knowledge.
📌 Appeals to different learning styles
With animated e-learning videos, you can cater to different learning styles, age groups, and learning preferences with ease. For example, younger learners often have shorter attention spans and may require more engaging methods to capture viewers’ interest.
So, with animated videos, you can benefit from the use of vibrant colors, relatable characters, and swift narrative. For adult learners, particularly those in professional or vocational training, animated videos can offer information in a concise, direct, and practical manner.
Learning paces may also vary among individuals, meaning some learners may need more time to absorb information than others. Thus, animated videos can be designed with narratives and visuals adjusted to the particular learning type.
Visual learners will benefit from graphics; auditory learners will engage with voiceovers and sound effects; read/write learners will benefit from the incorporated textual on-screen content. Even kinesthetic learners will be able to easily understand how a particular real-life object or mechanism works when its operation is presented in detail via animation.
📌 Makes learning more memorable
The combination of media that animated videos offer helps to drastically increase information memorability. The mix of visual and auditory elements helps reinforce information retention.
Aside from that, animations also create strong emotional connections with the content, which can further increase information retention. Once learners try to relate to a specific subject, they’re more likely to remember the educational content, narrative, and characters they had an emotional connection with.
How is animation used in education?
Now, let’s look at real-life examples and animation use cases in educational videos. All examples come directly from our portfolio of projects.
✔️ Antibiotics
This 2-minute educational video delves into the specifics of antibiotic use, explaining how they function and when they’re commonly prescribed. However, in the video, we also address the dangers of overusing antibiotics, making it clear that misuse can lead to severe consequences.
To reinforce this point, we used an emotional and engaging digital approach to show the risks of antibiotic overuse. The animation blends cutout, morphing, and traditional styles to effectively communicate the message.
✔️ White Glove
This video, a part of a 30-minute e-learning video course, was developed to help future white-glove contractors quickly adapt to new work roles and tasks. The project involved developing 2D flat animation to match an existing voice-over from the client. For this project, the main focus was on simplicity and clarity for an audience of mostly male evening learners.
Considering this, we kept the style and the overall color scheme minimalistic to ensure the learners wouldn’t get overloaded with excessive visuals when studying the material in the evening. While we ensured that the course covered the subject fully, we kept the storyline easy to understand. We also used the same considerations when choosing the style and type of animation.
✔️ Norwegian industrial company — e-learning 3D video
3D animation is highly effective for educational purposes when you need to demonstrate the features of a mechanism or machinery in detail, just like in a video we created showcasing the operation of a three-arm tunnel jumbo drilling rig.
The detailed model of the machinery created for this project shows parts and components whose operation is difficult to visualize in real life: you’d need a full-size rig placed in a tunnel to effectively demonstrate its functionality, which, for obvious reasons, is mostly impossible.
In this project, we illustrated how the parts of the machine interact and move, providing a clear understanding of how the rig works. This demonstration simplifies a complex system, offering a visually intuitive way to learn about the subject without the need to examine it in real life.
9 steps on creating your animated video for e-learning
We’ll now discuss how to actually create an e-learning animated video as a standalone product or as a part of a bigger educational course. In both applications, the step-by-step process is much the same.
1️⃣ Set learning objectives first
Setting learning goals is crucial when creating animated e-learning videos. Otherwise, you won’t have a solid framework to guide the production process. Clearly defined objectives ensure the educational content aligns with the learners’ needs and expectations, making it easier to determine the necessary visuals, pacing, and engagement strategies.
To help you identify learning objectives, consider such questions as 🧐:
- Who is the target audience, and what are their current knowledge levels?
- What specific skill or knowledge do you want learners to acquire?
- How are learners expected to demonstrate their understanding of the material?
- What is the desired outcome after viewing the video?
When objectives are established, they allow for a focused approach, ensuring the animation serves its purpose effectively. What’s also important is they will help to measure the effectiveness of the video after its completion.
2️⃣ Gather all necessary information
To ensure all the content in the video stays accurate, it’s crucial to gather all the necessary information beforehand. For example, at our agency, before starting a project, we brief the client on its key aspects.
Aside from learning about objectives and target audience, we also focus on studying all specific technical details to ensure the video not only looks superior but also accurately conveys the subject itself.
To do that, we closely collaborate with the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), which allows us to take on any project regardless of its complexity. A good example is the explainer video produced by Blue Carrot for the SaaS platform that offers an innovative approach to the gas transmission planning process.
3️⃣ Write a script scenario
The next step in making educational animation videos is the development of the script scenario which involves detailing such aspects as a scene list, voice-over text, and visual descriptions for characters and other on-screen actions.
Think of a script scenario as a detailed document that outlines scenes, narration, and timing. By the way, if you plan for localization of the project, consider possible language differences to avoid timing issues in the future.
Professional production teams, while polishing the script scenario, may even create several versions of it. It’s always better to do that in the earlier stages of the production, otherwise, you can encounter significant budgetary expenses if trying to alter it later.
If you want to learn more about video scripting, read A Complete checklist on how to write a script for an explainer video.
4️⃣ Choose the animation type and style
The chosen style and type of video directly affect how and in which way viewers will engage with the content. The key thing to remember here, however, is that the style and type of animation are the tools that help you achieve the learning objectives and not the other way around when you build the entire narrative around the visuals.
When it comes to choosing the relevant type and animation style for your project, it’s necessary to know the difference between the two. The style defines animation principles or visual rules that determine how objects look and behave in a scene. These rules cover aspects like lighting, transitions, shapes, colors, and object movement.
The animation type, on the other hand, refers to the specific techniques used to create the video, such as 2D, 3D, Motion Graphics, Stop Motion, and Cutout animation, each contributing to the video’s overall appearance. For more about animation styles and types, read Different animation styles & types of animation techniques with great examples.
5️⃣ Storyboard your video
A storyboard is a sequence of sketches that visually represents key scenes from a video based on the textual description provided by the script scenario. Basically, the storyboard gets created to show all involved how the final result will look like before the product actually moves into the production stage.
By visualizing each scene, the team can identify and correct any potential flaws or inconsistencies before moving to the animation phase, saving time and ensuring smoother execution. This structured approach enhances collaboration within the team, minimizing excessive adjustments and maintaining budget control.
It also plays a significant role in ensuring the video creation process stays aligned with both the learning objectives and the selected type and style of a video.
6️⃣ Produce visual assets
This is where the actual production stage begins. The team creates all the visual assets, characters, illustrations, backgrounds, etc. Everything needs to be done according to the script scenario and the previously produced storyboard.
Normally, before producing visual assets, video agencies tend to create a style frame — a single detailed shot with all finalized visuals. This is done to get a clear idea of how the final product will look and to develop all subsequent assets according to this visual “guideline”. It helps to ensure that the content stays visually consistent throughout the entire video.
7️⃣ Animate the video
Animating characters and objects and adding transitions between shots is one of the most intricate and time-consuming stages of the animated video production process. Here, the designers must ensure that the motion and flow of the elements on-screen support the narrative and convey the intended tone or atmosphere.
Depending on the learning objectives and project budget, there are multiple animation types to choose from. For example, 2D animation, known for its simplicity, works well for explaining basic concepts, while 3D animation provides depth and realism, ideal for intricate or technical subjects.
Motion graphics, often used for data visualization, can clarify abstract concepts through dynamic charts and diagrams. Cutout and stop-motion animations offer creative, hands-on approaches to visual storytelling. There also may be instances where, depending on the project requirements, different types can be somewhat mixed together to achieve the desired effect.
8️⃣ Record voiceover and add sound effects
This is the concluding phase of the video animation process, where voiceover gets recorded, and sound designers add necessary sound effects. They may also source stock tracks, create mixes, layer different effects, etc. Essentially, this step aims to bring the silent animation to life, supporting the storyline and enhancing its emotional impact on the viewer.
9️⃣ Review and revise
This step is crucial for ensuring the quality of the end product. During this phase, the production team, along with the client and SMEs, evaluates the video for clarity, effectiveness, and overall coherence. Feedback is collected on various elements, including visuals and audio, and final polishing is made if necessary.
It’s important to note that at professional video agencies — our team included — multiple QA sessions take place throughout the entire production process. This is done to ensure that when the video reaches the finish line, there are no major edits to be made, and no extra budget or team resources get devoured. Our recommendation would be to prioritize continuous communication and feedback with your team to catch any issues early on.
Integrating animated videos into learning experience
Let’s discuss a few tactics to help you make e-learning animated videos deliver a better learning experience and encourage learners to engage with the material more actively.
📌 Align visuals with learning objectives
As stated earlier, aligning visuals with the educational goals of animated e-learning videos is one of the core principles and ‘must-haves’ of an effective product. Not only does it make e-learning video perform as expected — allowing it to produce desired results for the video producers and learners — but it also makes the learning experience more focused and relevant.
Visuals tied to the objectives are a cognitive aid, helping learners retain and apply information more effectively. In doing so, video producers minimize distractions and keep learners focused on the most important aspects of the subject.
📌 Keep videos focused and short
Keeping videos concise and short helps maintain learners’ attention and prevent cognitive overload. This is because shorter videos (around 5-6 minutes) deliver information in manageable chunks, naturally aligning with the brain’s capacity for information processing. This makes it easier for learners to absorb and retain knowledge without becoming overwhelmed.
For more on how to make animated educational videos while effectively managing cognitive load, read Cognitive theory of video production for universities and higher education
By focusing attention, course designers can emphasize only the most relevant information, ensuring learners stay on track, especially when acquiring specific skills or knowledge. What’s more, with shorter videos it’s just much easier for the viewer to find necessary information once they decide to revisit a specific subject.
📌 Blend them with other learning activities
Incorporating animated videos into e-learning courses is another strong strategy that can reinforce the learning experience of the viewers. While videos offer visual explanations, follow-up activities, quizzes, and interactive tasks may help learners apply what they’ve seen in practice (remember the kinesthetic learners we’ve discussed earlier) and deepen their understanding.
By following this approach, course designers allow learners to solidify the obtained knowledge, making it easier to apply later. For more on how to create an e-learning course with video, read From idea to interactivity: workflow for e-learning development with video content
📌 Incorporate interactive elements alongside
This tactic is crucial when developing animated videos, especially for e-learning courses. Adding interactive elements alongside the video promotes active participation, which can lead to a deeper understanding of the material.
Incorporating quizzes, clickable hotspots, or branching scenarios will make learners think critically and apply what they’ve seen in the video. By establishing this “two-way” interaction, video/course designers break the passive learning cycle and keep students focused to the end of the course material.
How Blue Carrot can help your business
🔷 Lernetz
LerNetz approached us with a request to create a 35-minute animated online course in German, French, and Italian to train sales representatives on key techniques for insurance product sales. The course needed to match the company’s branding and be error-free to maintain the client’s company reputation.
The client provided our team with the concept and scripts while we focused on creating custom 2D animations. Multiple production teams were established on our end, along with a quality assurance specialist to prevent errors. Translators ensured accurate timing and translation.
The final course, delivered in HD, combined animated content and live practical examples, achieving a smooth and successful project completion within two months. The course was well-received by the client, contributing to sales growth and garnering positive feedback from employees.
🔷 Primozone
Primozone, a company that develops ozone generators and ozone solutions, wanted to get a simple yet informative educational video on the benefits of ozone use for disinfecting drinking water.
Our team created a video that, in about two minutes, explains all the peculiarities of ozone generation and its advantages for industrial and domestic water treatment. We deliberately kept the style minimalistic in order not to distract viewers from the main messages of the video and not to overburden the explanation of various chemical terms and reactions.
Conclusion
In general, animated learning videos are powerful tools with multiple advantages for e-learning projects. They can help enhance engagement by using strong visual effects and dynamic storytelling to capture learners’ attention. With videos, you can make education more accessible by simplifying cumbersome concepts and catering to various learning styles, age groups, etc. They can also be enhanced with interactive elements when used as part of larger courses.
While the production of such videos has become significantly simplified with the introduction of various software tools and platforms, creating educational animated videos that look professional and achieve their learning goals requires the involvement of a professional production team. With 10+ years in the video industry, you can count on Blue Carrot as your trusted partner for educational animated video creation.
Contact us today to discuss your project, and let’s design great learning experiences together! 🚀
