Overview
On the first day of class, instructors often allocate time for a syllabus tour to ensure that students understand the critical information they need to succeed in the course. In this post, I’ll walk you through the process of creating a syllabus presentation video with AI. In this design experiment, I first created slides from a traditional syllabus and then turned them into a video presentation, rather than using the syllabus itself as the resource for the tour.
Design Objective
How can AI tools be used to turn a syllabus into an engaging presentation video?
Design Examples
Below are three presentation videos created with different AI tools using the same course syllabus.
Best Suited When
- Efficiency is your priority. Some accuracy may be sacrificed because the presentation video is a supplementary resource, while the syllabus remains the single source of truth.
- You want to provide broader context in a more natural and friendly way. Instead of recording yourself or creating a word-for-word presentation, you can use the syllabus as a starting point to create a more conversational overview.
Limitations
- The script cannot be edited. You need to be comfortable allowing the AI to rephrase content and generate new text.
- Limited AI voice options. There are no options to choose from different AI voices for the presentation.
How-to Guide
- Upload your syllabus to Gemini Notebook as source content. Using a revised syllabus is highly recommended for best results. See Case Study_Visual Syllabus Examples for examples and guidance.
- In the Studio panel, click “Video Overview”. In the pop-up window, specify your preferences for the format, visual style, language, and custom topics. Be as specific as possible.
- Review and iterate on the design output.
- Download the final video. You can upload it to a web-based platform, such as your LMS, YouTube, or website.
Best Suited When
- You want full control over the script, structure, flow, narration, and background music.
- You want flexibility in narration. You can choose between recording yourself, using an AI-generated voice, or using an AI avatar.
- You want to minimize AI-generated phrasing. The content can stay closer to your original syllabus rather than relying heavily on automatically generated or rephrased text.
Limitations
- There is a learning curve compared with other AI tools.
- More customization means more work. The additional options may require more time to edit and finalize the presentation.
How-to Guide
Option 1 (Quickest, but errors can often occur during rendering.)
- Upload your syllabus to Gamma to generate slides, and upload them to Google Slides.
- From the File menu, select Turn into Video. Google Slides will automatically turn your slides into a video. You can choose to use your speaker notes or an AI-generated script for narration. See How to Convert Slides into a Narrated Presentation Video in 5 Seconds for examples and guidance.
- Edit the presentation as needed. You can edit the script, change the narration voice, add animations, or include background music.
- From the File menu, select Download or Export to YouTube. You can then upload or embed the video on a web-based platform, such as your LMS, YouTube, or website.
Option 2 (Recommended)
- Upload your syllabus to Gamma to generate slides, and upload them to Google Slides.
- Copy the slides and paste them into Google Vids. The speaker notes will also be transferred and used as the script for the AI voiceover.
- Follow the remaining steps in Option 1 above.
Best Suited When
- You want to generate an avatar-created video.
- You want full control over the script, structure, flow, narration, and background music.
- You want to explore advanced AI features, such as a wider range of AI models, templates and voice options, and you want a more professional look and feel.
Limitations
- Video creation is limited to one minute on the free account.
- There is a learning curve. The platform offers more advanced AI features, which may take some time to learn.
- More customization means more work. The additional options may require more time to edit and finalize the presentation.
How-to Guide
- Upload your syllabus to Gamma to generate slides, and export them as PPT/PDF file.
- Upload your exported file to automatically generate an avatar-narrated video in HeyGen.
- Edit the presentation as needed. You can edit the script, change the narration voice and more.
- Select Download. You can then upload the video on a web-based platform, such as your LMS, YouTube, or website.
Key Takeaways
Similar to the previous case studies, identifying your needs and purpose is critical to guiding your choice of design tools and informing your design decisions. The goal is not to choose the most advanced AI tool, but to select the tool and workflow that best align with your instructional purpose, content, audience, and desired level of control.