Know your stuff, show enthusiasm, keep it on message: factors influencing video engagement in two mechanical engineering courses

CONTEXT: Video usage in higher education has increased markedly over many years, but ongoing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated this trend. Consequently, a growing number of educators are grappling with how to best approach video production. Although a range of factors such as video quality, video length, and the presenters' style are known to influence student engagement with videos, more research is needed to understand the extent to which these factors impact, particularly in higher education. This can support educators producing video content that prioritises those aspects which are most critical. PURPOSE: This research seeks to understand what factors are most influential on students' decisions to engage versus disengage with video resources in the higher education context. This aims to develop a series of recommendations for educators to focus on when producing videos for inclusion in higher engineering education courses. APPROACH: This research considers two mechanical engineering courses taught at different Australian universities. These courses used videos as the primary delivery mode during Semester 2 (July to November) of 2020. Approximately half of each course explicitly applied production recommendations of a highly influential study. Students were surveyed at the end of the semester about their engagement preferences. OUTCOMES: The quality of the presenter's explanations and their enthusiasm in delivery were the most important factors influencing engagement, while seeing the presenter was least important. Video length and quality were more likely to cause disengagement when poor, than drive engagement when done well. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of the presenter's delivery (that is the quality of their explanations and their enthusiasm) are more influential in producing engaging video content than technological choices relating to the video capture and length. Therefore, educators should seek to prioritise the quality of their explanations and their stage presence, before working to improve the video/audio capture quality and reducing video durations. Including the face of the instructor in educational videos has little impact on students' usage decisions.