Building relationships and establishing a sense of community are critical to learning. This can be especially challenging in a virtual learning environment, but short and informal videos can be a tool for online educators and journalists to utilize as a way to introduce themselves and connect personally.

Welcome Videos for Journalists

So what does a "welcome video" look like for journalists?

Here's an example from Sophia Smith Galer, a reporter for BBC World Service. In this video, her introduction includes some details about her next big reporting project and an invitation for her audience to participate.

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I write more broadly about how Smith Galer uses video to build relationships in this article. In general, the welcome video is part of a continuous conversation with learning audiences. Smith Galer uses TikTok videos to shares her insights on the changing journalism industry and drops bits of knowledge that she's learning on her beat.

<aside> 💡 Know of other examples? Share them below.

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Examples Form – Journalism Through Learning Design

Tips for Creating a Welcome Video

This planning guide from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) is intended for college teachers, but there are a lot of relevant and useful tips and reminders for anyone who is just getting started.

• Videos can be very informal and creative.
• Use your webcam or smartphone.
• Audio is important: Try to choose a relatively quiet place with good lighting.
• Consider a tripod to keep a steady, centered frame.
• To make the video more personal, you may also want to record in a fun or relevant setting

(Source: ACUE Online Teaching Toolkit - Welcome Students)

Making "Super Simple" Videos

Mike Wesch, a professor of anthropology at Kansas State University and a featured expert in ACUE's Effective Online Teaching courses, has talked a lot about video best practices in a teaching context. His YouTube tutorial videos are engaging, informative, and practical.

One of the big points of emphasis that Wesch and other teaching experts make is that the videos don't need to be perfect or even polished. You don't need to be a skilled editor or videographers and you don't need fancy equipment. You do, however, need to overcome that discomfort that so many of us (guilty!) have about being on camera.