Feeling uneasy about memorizing an endless litany of anatomical figures and pharmaceutical drug names? As time goes by, the number of discoveries and latest research that we need to learn in medicine continues to grow exponentially! This does not just include the recent developments. Each new generation needs to learn a history of terminology alongside this influx of further information. Many medical students describe studying in many ways: packing the brain to capacity, drinking from a fire hydrant, or "just plain impossible!" It can get overwhelming too soon.

Don't get burdened by the negatives; there's always a good side. As we engage in lifelong learning, we do develop new ways to improve the learning systems currently in place. Whether it's finding new ways to exercise, to cook—and new ways to learn!

When you are stuck on a topic that you cannot decipher, it's wiser to find more engaging ways to learn. One of the most efficient ways to do that is by learning the concept through a video. You may already recognize the importance of learning via online medical videos:

1. 1. Help you understand concepts faster than your average textbooks

2. 2. Help you retain ideas for longer

3. 3. Online videos are portable

4. 4. Learning or revising concepts is more straightforward with videos

5. 5. When videos are in 3D, they give a better understanding of the depth and spatial arrangement of organs and their functions

6. 6. Hard-to-imagine concepts come alive

7. 7. They are just more engaging when compared to textbooks/notes

The above pointers make studying with medical videos far more sustainable than textbooks. But what makes an excellent medical education video? Creating compelling learning experiences for students begins with implementing 3 main elements-

- Cognitive load

• - Learner engagement

• - Active learning

Cognitive load - 

In the simplest form, this term refers to the degree of mental effort used in the working memory. While making a video, we need the working memory to play ball because the information must be processed here to be encoded into long-term memory. There is much more (and fascinating) information on the components of cognitive load feel free to go down that rabbit hole yourself. Let's look into how it impacts the design of medical educational videos:

Signaling

How do you direct the learner's attention to the crucial information? Using on-screen text to highlight important details can help learners retain data for longer. You can either use a few keywords, color change or add symbols.

Weeding out the unnecessary 

Remove exciting but irrelevant information that does not contribute to the learning goal. Having too much information just confuses the learner, and they are left wondering what information they need to know.

Segmenting

Breaking down the information is essential so users can engage with small pieces of new information. Ensuring the information is logically structured allows for a sensible breakdown, making medical videos shorter and more easily digestible for the learner.

Matching modality

Animation and text in one screen can sometimes overload the visual channel; on the other hand, using narration (voice-over) to explain the animation makes the best use of both channels. They complement each other, thus maximizing the ability to process the information in working memory. Applying both eyes and ears in a complementary manner helps increase a learner's retention and encourages user engagement.

Learner engagement

For learning to be more engaging, one should always keep the information short, concise and straightforward. 

• Personalize the material – portray the impression that the material is created for a particular group of people, for a specific purpose (if this is not already the case).

• Narration should be enthusiastic and relatively fast – many believe that the tendency for the narration should be rather slow to ensure learners grasp essential information. But researchers have observed that student engagement increases if the narrator's speaking rate is relatively fast. Fervor is still the most critical factor in narration, though.

Active learning

Just like reading, watching a medical education video can still be a passive experience if not executed properly. When scripting and designing educational videos, the main aim is to ensure that the experience is towards active learning.

Conclusion

Now coming back to our first question, what makes an excellent medical education video? You know the answer. And who has the best video, you ask? We don't mean to brag, but MediMagic ticks off all the boxes in cognitive load, learner engagement and active learning sectors. Our videos have scientifically backed evidence of being better than textbooks and better in terms of other video providers.

If you want to experience the magic of 3D videos for yourself, download the MediMagic App now. Access your FREE 14-day trial and start studying now.