We all know that most people’s attention spans prefer shorter,
concise videos when they are learning a new topic.
But what if you need to record a video lesson that just makes more sense to keep it as one, longer video?
Is that still ok?
I think so.
But, is it possible to help your students or viewers navigate the video content to more easily find what they are looking for?
Yes it is … and during the next few minutes, we will look at two ways to help you accomplish this.
The first idea is to create a Table of Contents in Camtasia so viewers can
quickly jump to specific areas of interest in the video.
It’s important to know that a Table of Contents is an interactive feature,
so it requires the video to use the TechSmith Smart Player to function correctly.
Hosting the video on TechSmith Knowmia is one option since it utilizes the Smart Player.
The second idea is to host your Camtasia video on YouTube,
and add clickable time stamps in the description area below the video … that looks something like this.
Now I’m going to be using a Course Overview video as the example in this tutorial,
but this process can be applied to any video that you create.
Let’s get started.
Here in the Camtasia Editor is an example course overview recording that I did earlier.
This example video is only a few minutes long, so it may not technically require a Table of Contents …
but it should work fine for this demo.
Markers are required in order to create a Table of Contents for the video.
Since this video talks about several different parts or areas of the course website,
I’m going to add some Markers to the beginning of each new topic.
To add a Marker, position the playhead at the start of a new topic or section.
Use the hotkeys Shift + M to add a Marker.
You can also go to Modify > Markers > Add Timeline Marker, if you prefer.
With the Marker selected, edit the name in the Properties panel.
I’ll call this one Contact Information.
You’ll notice that a Marker track is now available on the Timeline,
which enables another quick way to add Markers by mousing over the track and clicking the plus button.
I’ll name this one Syllabus.
I’ll continue this same process to add Markers at each new section throughout the video.
When finished, here’s a little tip.
Sometimes with this Marker track open, I accidentally click on the timeline and add a new marker, and then I have to Undo it.
Click this button to show and hide the Marker track on the timeline.
When it’s closed, you can still see the Marker locations with these blue triangles.
Let’s produce this video to see what the Table of Contents looks like.
From the Share menu, click New Custom Production.
You will need to use the MP4 - Smart Player (HTML5) option in order for the Table of Contents feature to work.
On the next page, click the Options tab and make sure that the Table of Contents box is checked.
Searchable is optional … but super nice to have on if you also add closed captions to your video.
Click next until you reach the Marker Options page.
Here is where you can do some customization.
You can rename any Markers (and double-check spelling), as well as deselect any that you changed your mind about using.
For the display options, the default is to have the TOC displayed on the left side of the video,
but I’m a big fan of the fixed-right option.
I’ll select fixed-right and will explain why I prefer this option when we view the final video.
Click Next one more time to name your video and choose a folder location to save it to.
Then click Finish.
Once the video has finished rendering, it will open in a web browser window to preview.
Click this Table of Contents button to show and hide the TOC.
Since I selected Fixed-Right for the display option,
it opens above this toggle button and makes it easier to click on each Marker to jump to that part of the video.
The Fixed-Left option would display the TOC on the left-side of the video window.
It’s really just a personal preference, so use whichever one feels right for you.
Remember, that this video needs to playback in the TechSmith Smart Player in order for the Table of Contents feature to work.
Now, if you prefer to use YouTube to host your videos,
then here’s how you can make it easier for your students (or viewers) to navigate your video.
When you upload your video to YouTube, you can build your own Table of Contents in the Description area on the Video Details page.
Either before or after each topic, just add the time in the video where that section begins.
For example, I’ll add the time when I share my Contact Information,
and the time when I begin to talk about the Syllabus, and so forth.
When finished adding each of the times, just save the changes and visit the video page to admire your work.
The time stamps are now clickable links, and your viewers can easily navigate to any section they want to review.
Hopefully, one or both of these ideas is something that you can try out and see if it works well for you.
Thanks for watching and please let us know how we can help.