University of Central Florida: Leveraging AI Videos in Education

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We spoke to Dr. Kenneth Hanson, a Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Central Florida (UCF) who uses HeyGen to teach his students the History of the Jewish People.

The Challenge

The University of Central Florida strongly requested Professor Hanson take his course online, prompting him to begin creating videos of historical instances. Teaching his courses online and educating students to understand the history of the Judaic people. This posed several challenges (in addition to creating videos), and although the university had a studio where videos could be made, there were several logistics to consider:

• Time needed to create scripts: Writers would need to research and create historical content.
• Training actors: Student actors or professionals would require lengthy rehearsals
• Production time: Time is always a consideration; the editing involved could create possible lengthy delays
• Cost prohibitive: Producing videos is expensive and would require a substantial investment in studio equipment and props.

I realized that rather than go into the studio to wait for these things to get edited, these characters can be created, and AI can generate them and even create voices and accents.

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The Solution

Utilizing HeyGen's assistance, Dr. Hanson had an epiphany: AI technology could breathe life into historical figures.  The characters could be animated by inputting a script, offering a fresh and modern approach to educating his online students. Using his prior video creation experience, HeyGen now enables him to produce more content efficiently, injecting fun into the learning process.

Creating videos solves accessibility issues by integrating closed captions, making the lessons more inclusive.

As a lecturer, Dr. Hanson often shares information with students in an unrehearsed way. Creating AI videos allows him to think through the process and add more details that would otherwise get missed when giving a lecture.

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Education shouldn't be just confined to only those who sign up for our classes; it's for everybody. AI is a game changer because rather than spend a couple of weeks to produce a single video, I'm doing this on my own now, with my own laptop.

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The Results

• Productivity: No longer having to go into the studio or wait for editing. The AI videos can now be produced using avatars or photos of historical figures (even TalkingPhoto technology) with edits in 15 minutes or less. The voices of historical figures can be imported using HeyGen's voice clone feature for a realistic effect.
• Cost Savings: Gone are the days of costly equipment like cameras, lights, or studio rentals. Thanks to HeyGen AI, creating videos can now be done on a simple laptop or PC, making the process more accessible and budget-friendly.
• Online Learning: Students are more engaged and retain information from online classes at a higher percentage than from previous in-person classes.

Using AI in a productive way is the future.

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The integration of technology in education brings significant advantages to institutes of higher learning and professors. By harnessing these tools, educators can promptly respond to students' needs, crafting bite-sized learning content that is tailored to captivate students and enhance knowledge retention.

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For more information, please review Dr. Kenneth Hanson's live interview:

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