How long should your eLearning video be? It is a very important issue in the construction of an eLearning program! A video can not be too short taking the risk to miss critical information nor too long to avoid losing the audience's interest. Here are some tips to find the right balance.

1. UbiTips
How long should your
eLearning video be?

2. How long should be an eLearning video?

3. -­‐
1. Never longer than 60
minutes per session
The attention & concentration time of an adult is about
40 to 60 minutes. So make sure to keep the daily
eLearning sessions shorter.
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4. 2. Always shorter than a classic
classroom training
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The classic classroom training is split into days (6 or 7
hours) because of organizational constraints.
An eLearning course is by definition shorter & is supposed
to go to the essential. ELearning videos must therefore be
shorter and more synthetic than classroom courses .

5. 3. Divide the video
in chapters
Divide your videos in several chapters or
sequences, it will allow the learners to have
time markers and to measure their
progression in the module without being
discouraged.
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6. 4. Be Interactive & synthetic
A video that is interactive & synthetic: it’s the key to
maintain the learner’s interest throughout the whole
eLearning session.
Animations, examples, short & dynamic sessions are all
ways to rise & keep your audience’s attention.
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7. -­‐
5. And why not try
micro-­‐learning?
Micro-Learning is based on short videos lasting
5 minutes, tops, and listing the main points of
the lesson to remember.
It can be a way to help learners who are very
busy, and do not have a lot of time for their
training.
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8. 6. There is no
standard timing
There can not be ONE ideal & standard timing
for eLearning videos.
Today, a new challenge appears: mobile
learning. It changes the definition of « time ».
The lesson can be followed anywhere, anytime,
which makes even harder to evaluate the time
spend in an eLearning program.
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9. How to estimate the time of an eLearning Video
from the storyboarding phase?

10. 1. Count your Slides The rule says that, 1 slide is 1 minute.
However, this rule is very relative, the time
spent on a slide may depend on its
importance or complexity .
Indeed, the number of slides is to be
considered but always keeping in mind that
this information is relative.
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11. 2. Count the words
The number of words can be a good way to estimate the
time base of your module: 1 minute is about 130 words.
Don’t forget to consider:
- Interactions & animations
- Complex diagrams
- Individual differences
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12. -­‐
3. Test in live
One of the safest way is to perform tests with
different audiences. Then, you can calculate
the average time for each tester to complete
the learning module.
Finally, you can obtain a relevant average of
the learning time needed to finish the
program.
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13. Now, it’s your turn!
Create your own eLearning rich media videos with UbiCast.
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