by Jocasta Williams
When students encounter new digital tools in their learning environments, even small hurdles can lead to big frustrations. For educators and learning designers, the challenge is to provide just enough support to help students get comfortable without overwhelming them with unnecessary information. That’s where short, well-designed instructional videos can shine, especially when they’re created with cognitive load theory in mind.
Claire Lockett, Educational Development Lead at the University of Tasmania, saw this first-hand when her team introduced a learning tool into the student experience that was a little more complex than usual. “We started with written instructions, which has worked previously,” says Claire, “but we found that, because of the complexity, some students were feeling overwhelmed and couldn’t complete the activity.” In response, her team created a short instructional video to walk students through the process step by step. The difference was immediate: “We went from a cohort of quite stressed students to everyone completing the activity with no issue.”
For Claire, the impact wasn’t surprising. “Everything I do is through the lens of cognitive load theory,” she explains. “It’s really important for me that our students are able to focus on the pedagogy of an activity, and they’re not caught up in the technology itself.”
Cognitive load theory proposes that our working memory – the part of the brain responsible for temporarily holding and processing information – has a limited capacity. When learners are required to interpret unfamiliar tools, decipher detailed written instructions, and engage with complex academic content simultaneously, that capacity can be quickly exceeded. The result is frustration, confusion, and reduced learning effectiveness.
Instructional videos can be a powerful tool to ease this load. By shifting some of the cognitive demand away from text and into audiovisual guidance, videos can reduce what’s known as extraneous load – the mental effort not directly related to the learning goal. Students aren’t spending energy trying to interpret or visualise instructions; instead, they see the process unfold in real time. This frees up their cognitive resources to focus on the task itself.
Rather than scanning and interpreting a long list of written steps, students simply watch, and follow along. “All of that’s taken away for the students,” Claire says. “They can just focus on how to get through the tool to complete the activity.”
At the University of Tasmania, Echo360’s EchoVideo solution made the process easy. In particular, Claire credits browser capture as a game-changer. “One of the benefits I found with browser capture was that I can create instructional videos quickly – point and talk, really simple, no fancy edits, no jump cuts – and publish to the Learning Management System all in one workflow.”
The simplicity of browser-based recording has also helped reduce resistance from staff, especially those less confident with technology. Claire’s team initially supported video production on behalf of anxious academics. But with such a low barrier to entry, that support is often temporary: “Once the academics saw how quick and easy it was, they picked it up and ran with it. It’s now taken on a life of its own with the academics creating videos for other assessment types without needing our help.”
Claire keeps it simple: “Clear, concise, and one-topic focused.” While it’s tempting to cram in everything – how to complete, edit, and submit the task; the theory behind it; even related tips – Claire warns this is counterproductive. “That basically turns it into a mini lecture, and students feel really overwhelmed. It introduces (or increases) anxiety because they can’t find the information they need in the moment.”
Instead, she recommends staying short and sharp. “Usually no more than about three minutes that just addresses the issue at hand.” It’s not about explaining why an activity matters. It’s about showing how to do it – clearly, calmly, and without distractions.
The result? Fewer support emails, better student outcomes, and a smoother learning experience for all.
Claire will be presenting her findings at the THETA conference in Perth, Western Australia this May, sharing more on how instructional video can reduce barriers and empower students using digital tools in higher education.
