Sparkol
Video Content for Easier Learning

The information age has changed the general attention span. The collective global attention span is narrowing due to the amount of information presented to the public. With the need for so many learners to work and learn remotely, it is incredibly challenging to create engaging content that accommodates those shorter attention spans or is consumed in small chunks at a learner's own pace. "We provide video software that allows anyone at any level to bring to life creative and engaging content and in the ed tech sector it is all about engagement in remote teaching," begins Zoe Taylor MBE, CEO of Sparkol.

The company is the creator of the best whiteboard animation software, VideoScribe, used in over 180 countries to help businesses, charities, educators, and individuals to tell stories with staying power. The tool is built for blended learning and a multi-sensory learning experience, while the combination of spoken word, animated hand-drawn images, music, and sound effects boosts knowledge retention, inspires creativity, and teaches storytelling. Research shows that whiteboard animations boost knowledge retention by 15% over talking head videos, while increasing the learners' problem-solving abilities by 75%, resulting in 66% of the audience being more willing to explain what they have learned. "The value in creating this great engaging content within VideoScribe, or one of our other tools, is the ability to create content that appeals to multiple different learning styles," adds Taylor.

VideoScribe provides a limitless canvas - like a whiteboard - for content creators to use a combination of images from the software's image library or they can upload their own visual content. Animated text can be added and afterward, users can add audio by recording their voice-overs or choose audio tracks from the VideoScribe music library. The software will then automatically create an animated video from that. "You would see a hand drawing out the content in the form of a whiteboard style animated video," adds Taylor. Many people believe that the content is filmed in a live environment, but this is the technical skill that enables people to place images and text on a canvas, press a button, and automatically create an engaging video. "Our tools enable teachers or whoever is presenting the content to be empowered to make the best content for incomparable learning," states Taylor.

We bring dull content to life in magical and meaningful ways

For instance, Ms. Cole, an English and Drama teacher from the Netherlands, identified the opportunity with VideoScribe to help her students learn more. Her students could access the content on-demand and go through the video pieces for revisions and stay fresh with the content. Later they would come back to class and then discuss it specifically if needed. The students would also watch a video with the learning material before her classes to focus on putting those ideas into practice where they could apply concepts and close any gaps in learning. Moreover, Ms. Cole has collected those videos and uploaded them on YouTube and now has a thriving subscriber base on the popular video-sharing website. "Her output from VideoScribe is not only benefiting students but it is also helping to educate anyone in the world," adds Taylor.

Forging ahead, Sparkol is focusing on growing the number of languages that it currently offers in the tool. The company aims to join forces with other parties to ensure that its software and its content are available to any teachers worldwide. It will aid content creators worldwide irrespective of their level of technical expertise or creativity to make and share engaging content easily using their imagery, language, or copyright content for their audience. Sparkol takes pride in covering all the sectors such as elementary learning, teaching pre and postgrads in universities, or medical. "We bring dull content to life in magical and meaningful ways," concludes Taylor.