This video was made to help engage and motivate students who were learning to code for the first time during the COVID pandemic in 2020. This resource inspired my supervisor to assign me the Web Design Course redesign in 2021.
_Challenge_01/04_
During the 2020 pandemic, in person classes were shut down. These were integral at the time for learning to code, as the concepts could be dry and complex. Students struggled to learn with the online resources they had, specifically with CSS layout. It was the last few weeks of the semester and students were losing hope and motivation.
_Solution_02/04_
A YouTube explainer style video that breaks down CSS layout techniques using paper cut outs to physically show how the browser interprets code. Should be informative, engaging, but soothing, to help ease tensions during the pandemic.
_Process_03/04_
An informal survey was sent out to students, portions of it are seen in the video below. It helped me learn what students wished they were learning and what they were struggling with. The biggest issue uncovered was that students struggled to create good layout with CSS, as understanding all the techniques they could use and why they functioned was difficult during sudden remote learning.
Students were already stressed during this time and pretty sick of looking at code. So I used bits of coloured paper to represent web document objects, to help reduce overwhelm and make the topic more approachable.
I wrote a script for everything I wanted to say, making sure my explanations were clear and had time beats. This meant I could “animate” the paper in time to what I was saying in the pre-recorded voice over.
The choice to film outside on the ground was to further help the video feel simple and calming. The YouTube explainer style video was familiar to my audience and was popular at the time.
This ensured I was able to deliver a complex topic in an engaging, but also calm and easy to understand way.
_Impact_04/04_
Students found renewed vigour and “ah huh!” moments. They were so proud of learning to code remotely and played with objects in their own homes, to help them understand and imagine how to build CSS layouts.
The response to this technique was strong enough that my supervisor assigned me the offical unit rediesgn of the Web Design Course the following year.
@Credits {
Music featured in video }
"Study And Relax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0