My favorite days in school were when the screen was pulled down and the film or video was cued up to play. Whether it was English, science or math, I knew the class-time would fly by... and I might even learn something interesting.
Now that I'm developing teaching materials of my own, I don't need to be convinced of the power of video to attract your attention and keep you interested long enough to share some useful information. But I am even more curious as to why video is so powerful.
In short, our brains are wired to pay attention to movement and noise. This makes sense as movement and noise would be indications of opportunity (a tasty gazelle) or danger (an erupting volcano). Video combines movement (visual stimulation) and noise (audio stimulation), so we are pre-disposed to pay attention to what is presented in a video.
And not only are we paying attention, we are more likely to remember information that is delivered with a combination of words and pictures. We are verbal creatures - language is one of the key things that makes us human; but most of our brain is actually devoted to processing visual information.
Further, the combination of visual and language improves recall. Research has demonstrated that when visual is combined with text (written or spoken), new information is reinforced in multiple parts of the brain and thus increases the chance that the information is stored in long-term memory.
Want to see this in action? Check out this video...
As I've learned more about why video is so powerful in engaging a learner and encouraging storage of new ideas in long-term memory, I'm even more excited to be adding video content to Merchant Academy - a unique online training and development product designed to increase the effectiveness of retail Merchants and Merchandise Planners.
The video segments will complement the written courses and assignments which require immediate and relevant use and application of the concepts. And with video in the mix, I am even more confident that Merchant Academy will effectively reach, engage and develop the next generation of retail merchants and planners.
For more information about Merchant Academy, including available courses, please email us at info@merchant-insight.com
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