Education needs to be fun. More importantly, it needs to be in a video form.
I personally like animation. And, endorse watching educational animation videos for concepts of Maths, Geometry, and a lot of abstract stuff that sounds just too dull in the classroom.
Animation just makes it all seem amazing to my mind.
And, I’m motivated to digest it all in easy bites.
It not only makes it exciting, and keeps me curious throughout the video, but more importantly, things that I learn from animated educational videos are hardly forgettable.
That’s not me speaking out of boredom. There’s a lot of research that backs up educational animation videos.
A recent study by Ardent learning showed that 91% of Americans, who were in the age bracket of 25-29 reported to watch videos to upskill and learn new things.
This massive demand for educational video content has given rise to a whole new category of video: educational animation video.
Apart from being informative, educational animation videos are characterized by their unique appeal to learners.
You’ve animated characters painted in wonderful environments, engaging you with all the fun things, and instilling thoughtful ideas in the most effortless way possible
If you’re an educationist you already know that:
Learning happens best when the viewers or students are driven by curiosity.
And, you can create that magic, keeping your students more concentrated, and excited with educational animation videos.
Speaking of younger generations, specifically Gen Z watches video to learn new things.
And, there’s a great majority of young kids who affirm that fun, and interactive educational videos are readily accessible, and one can easily wrap their head around the instructions that are being given to them.
Anyhow, If you’re new to animated videos, don’t be frustrated.
I’ve written this blog as the ultimate guide on the topic of educational animation videos. It’s got everything you need to know about them in 2024.
And, I’ve kept it all simple. Just for you.
So, feel free to dive in!
Benefits Of Animated Educational Videos
Aside from being entertaining, animated videos can be seriously thought-provoking, and for long they’ve been used to educate, and even inspire viewers. And, rightfully so.
Animated videos offer versatility in getting your message across.
Always suitable for a wide range of audiences, brands, and topics, there’s literally no limit to the creative freedom you can expose yourself to with animation.
However, these benefits of educational animation videos extend beyond mere versatility.
To help you understand these benefits fully, I want to highlight common pain points for creators of educational content. And, we’ll see how precisely animated videos help you tackle these challenges.
Pain point 1: Updating course content and creating new videos with an instructor is painstaking.
Solution: Updating educational animation videos is a breeze.
Unlike live-action counterparts that demand costly reshoots, rehiring actors, and potential travel expenses, animation allows for effortless content updating. A simple addition of a new voiceover or adjustments to text and graphics accommodates fresh information seamlessly.
Pain point 2: Envisaging abstract concepts of science is difficult
Solution: Abstract concepts find a comfortable home in animation.
Ideas such as interstellar travel between stars can be challenging to convey through live-action video. Animation, on the other hand, provides a canvas to illustrate and communicate even the most abstract and otherworldly notions.
Pain point 3: Replicating more videos with a real person is time-consuming
Solution: Repurposing content with templates is effortless with educational animation videos.
As your company and audience expand, the need for more content arises. Animated videos, crafted through templates, offer a scalable solution, allowing you to replicate success and grow with minimal effort.
Here’s an exciting statistic to back the above:
As per Linearity, by 2026, 50% of animation studios are projected to be cloud-based, fostering more remote collaborations and lowering costs tied to physical infrastructure.
Pain point 4: Building a unique brand persona is seriously difficult
Solution: Animated educational videos are fun, and memorable
Branding animated educational videos is simpler compared to live counterparts. The ability to infuse branded colors seamlessly throughout the animation sets them apart.
In contrast, using live-action stock footage often limits customization. Educational animation videos can be easily tailored to match your brand’s colors with just a few clicks.
More specifically, if you want to create a brand that is aimed at promoting preservation of the environment, then there’s a cool insight from Linearity:
Animation studios actively embrace environmentally friendly practices, achieving a 50% reduction in carbon emissions through sustainable animation techniques.
So, you’ve a legit reason to opt for animated content to come clean as an environment-friendly brand.
Types of Educational animation videos
Without a doubt, animated videos are perfect to educate and inspire your audience. But how do you know if you’ve picked the right type of animation style for your educational video?
Let’s not make it a guess game. If you’re someone who’s into creating educational content, there are three things you need to be mindful of.
When you need to decide which style of educational animation video might work best for you, pay close attention to these three factors;
Learning outcome for your audience
Current learning needs
Course content
Considering the popularity of educational content among creators, there are best styles of educational videos.
These 5 types of Educational Animation Videos:
- Stock Footage
- Screencast
- Whiteboard
- 2D Animation
- 3D Animation
1. Stock Footage
Stock footage is free-licensed video that is readily available on the internet. It’s pre-recorded footage that you purchase, typically from stock footage sites like Adobe.
Why opt for Stock footage for your educational video?
Stock footage can be more cost-effective and time-savvy than doing live-action film yourself. It’s more popular these days as brands are producing more mixed-media styled videos that involve animation and stock clips to humanize content for a greater reach.
Recommended Stage: Introductory video learning modules
Pro Tip: Stock footage in your educational video should be no longer than 20 seconds.
Case in point: Pi-Health
The video above was made for healthcare technology company, Pi-Health. It uses stock-footage in tandem with striking animated visuals. The purpose of stock footage here is to humanize the brand while the switch to animated elements, work well to verbalize the message with passion.
2. Screencast
Screencasts are simply a recording of your computer screen. You can either record your screen alone or with audio, depending on your screen recorder.
How are screencasts effective for educating learners?
Screencasts can be effective for educating learners as they allow you to show how exactly a software is run, help navigate the user through a website or a learning module. Screencasts are typical of online classrooms and may also be termed as pencasts. You may even use them with PowerPoint slides.
Recommended Use: Software tools/Website Trainings
Caution: Screencasts shouldn’t be longer than six minutes, or you risk losing viewer attention.
Pro-Tip: Use a high-quality screencast so your screen appears crystal clear in the video.
3. Whiteboard Animation
Whiteboard animation is another timeless style of educational animation videos. It utilizes a blank canvas to visually tell a story, employing hand-drawn illustrations and text, creating a dynamic and engaging narrative that unfolds in real-time.
Recommended Level: Awareness stage of the funnel
4. 2D Animation:
2D animation brings characters and scenes to life with vibrant, two-dimensional visuals, offering a colorful and imaginative storytelling experience that captivates audiences through its simplicity and creativity. You can choose to have them in a professional tone, or even go out-of-the-box and create, fun and humorous educational content.
For more information on how to create funny educational content, check out funny training videos.
Recommended Level: Middle of the funnel stage
5. 3D Animation:
3D animation employs advanced digital techniques to craft immersive and lifelike visuals, adding depth and realism to storytelling. It creates a visually stunning experience, pushing the boundaries of animation possibilities.
Recommended level: Middle and bottom stage of the funnel
8 Best Examples of Educational Animation videos
Creating a truly outstanding educational video doesn’t need to be stressful at all. If you’ve no idea where to start, you can always check out some of the best educational animation videos (posted below).
These may even come in as inspirational especially when you’re going through a creative block.
To help you internalize the best ideas for an educational creative, I’ve dissected each of these educational animation videos with great clarity.
For each, I’ve highlighted the crux of the messaging, style of animation, the result the organization got from the video,
And,
The pro-tip you can take away for creating your own noteworthy educational animation video.
So, make sure you don’t miss out on this one.
1. University of California
| Style of Animation | 2D |
| Target Audience | Faculty members |
| Core Message | Annual certification application |
The University of California utilized an animated video to simplify document submission and process navigation for their staff, acknowledging the challenges of paperwork in the education sector.
Result:
This innovative approach not only streamlined training efforts but also significantly reduced the time spent on repetitive tasks. Staff members now have a dashboard, leading them towards efficiency and greater digital literacy.
Pro-Tip: Identify repetitive tasks and create quick animations to bridge knowledge gaps.
If you want to create quality training video and not sure where to start, make sure to check out this insightful guide on Creating training videos for work.
2. University of Utah
| Style of Animation | 2D animation |
| Target Audience | Students and Parents/Guardians |
| Core Message | Effective tips to cope with Covid-19 Stress |
The Behavioral Response Support Team (BRST) at the University of Utah is known for its heart-touching campaigns to raise mental health awareness, and help students adapt remedial behaviors to overcome challenges.
This time, the BRST department stepped outside of its comfort zone. When Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, the team at BRST came up with a short, sweet, and informative clip for students fighting with Covid-19 stress.
This short animated clip, educates students and their guardians about stress symptoms, and effective remedies they can take, to minimize stress among children.
The Result:
The video is known for its clear-cut messaging till today. Moreover, when it was about raising awareness, this video is short, and concise enough to convey its message with impact. It crossed hundreds of views in no time.
3. City of Calgary
| Style of Animation | 2D |
| Target Audience | Citizens of Calgary (Calgarians) |
| Core Message | Increase sign-ups of City’s digital portal |
The City of Calgary made this animated educational video to reach its citizens. The primary objective was to help the community familiarize with a digital portal.
t won’t just simplify managing residents, but keeping their demographics updated on cloud would help the City accommodate the residents even better.
Now, they could have sent out fliers. But this thoughtful explainer does much more than reach a few hundred people. It was watched by literally thousands of members of the Calgary community.
The Result:
The City of Calgary gained access to email lists of thousands of residents, and could now create a more personalized experience for them on their portals, and engage them on social media.
Pro Tip: Know the whereabouts of your audience, and connect with them.
4. Npili School Help us build a school for girls in Africa
| Style of Animation | 2D |
| Target Audience | Donors and social organizations |
| Goal | Raise awareness for girl education |
The Npili School made this video illustrating the importance of funding and aiding children in Guinea to attend school and transform the lives of themselves and the community.
Result:
The emotionally charged video by Npili School garnered substantial donations, significantly advancing their fundraising efforts.
Pro-Tip: Evoke emotions by showcasing the human side of your cause in educational videos.
5. Hutch Thinks Big
| Style of Animation | 2.5D |
| Target Audience | University students |
| Goal | Raise funds to help underprivileged students |
The animated video, “Hutch Thinks Big,” featuring a cute squirrel, was crafted to enhance the “24 Hour Impact Giving Day” for the University of Chicago.
Result:
The outcome was a highly successful fundraising initiative, with increased engagement and donations generated through the persuasive impact of the animated educational video.
Pro-Tip: Integrate relatable characters, to evoke emotions and boost interest.
6. WHO: Black Dog
| Style of Animation | Illustration |
| Target Audience | General public |
| Goal | Raise awareness against clinical depression |
The WHO’s educational animation video effectively raises awareness about mental health, drawing inspiration from Matthew Johnstone’s book, ‘I had a black dog. Its name was depression.’
Result:
The video garnered widespread attention, fostering increased awareness and understanding of mental health issues globally. Its impactful messaging left a lasting impression on viewers.
Pro-Tip: Leverage strong visuals to enhance your message’s impact.
7. York University
| Style of Animation | 2.5D |
| Target Audience | Students at York University |
| Goal | Teach time management |
This animated video from York University not only showcases campus life but also guides students on time management.
The incorporation of characters adds a realistic touch, tuning into both informative content for current students and effective marketing that highlights the university’s care for its students.
Result:
The video achieved a dual purpose—informing existing students on time management while effectively portraying York University’s commitment to student well-being.
Pro-Tip: Infuse realism into educational videos by incorporating characters and showcase real scenarios.
8. Salesforce University
| Style of Animation | 2.5D |
| Target Audience | Educational institutes and students |
| Goal | Upskilling students |
This educational animation video aligns seamlessly with the preferences of the younger generation.
Result:
Salesforce University experienced heightened enrollment and positive feedback from their tech-savvy student base.
Pro-Tip: Tailor educational content to digital platforms, and prioritize visually engaging formats.
You can also create the same quality of visual experience for your educational platform or your online courses by simply partnering up with the best training video production companies.
Educational Animation Video Cost
Before you decide on creating your first animated educational video, you might want to have some idea of the cost. What is the price? Is it affordable? Or will it break the bank for you?
To have a better idea of the pricing estimation, you need to keep an eye out for certain factors.
The educational video production cost is influenced by the following factors:
Educational Video Length:
The style and topic of the educational video impact its length, contributing to variations in production costs.
Pre-Production:
Conceptualization, scriptwriting, storyboarding, and research are integral pre-production steps, each consuming time based on the complexity and type of educational video.
Educational Video Company Experience:
The experience of the educational video company may impact costs, with more experienced firms potentially charging higher fees for their expertise. The more experienced an educational video producer is, the better quality you’re likely to get for your video.
Special Equipment Needs:
Certain educational videos necessitate specific equipment like cameras and studio settings, incurring additional costs through rentals or equipment purchases.
Use of Animation:
For visually appealing educational content, incorporating animation and motion graphics contributes to production costs but enhances the artistic appeal of the overall content.
Narrators or Voiceovers:
Creating engaging audio-visual content often requires voice-over artists or narrators to effectively communicate concepts.
Editing Time:
The duration of editing varies based on the length and complexity of the educational video, influencing overall production costs.
How to Create An Educational Vlog?
Creating an educational vlog is a real challenge. Creators often look up what’s popular in their niche and regurgitate the best content they can.
And, unsurprisingly so, it just doesn’t pan out as they would want it to. The reach slurps into nothing when viewers realize the content is not original.
If you don’t know where to start with your educational animation video, make sure to check out educational vlog ideas.
To help you create high-quality educational content, here is a small guide that teaches, step-by-step.
1. Board Setup:
The classic approach! Equip yourself with just a camera and tripod, and start with traditional teaching. Write and explain topics on a board in front of the camera, record, edit, and share your knowledge.
2. PowerPoint Presentation:
Turn information into engaging visuals. Create slides with software, incorporating pictures, charts, and animations. Convert the presentation into a video, add a voice-over, and voila!
Your educational vlog is set to delight viewers.
3. Pen & Tablet:
Embrace digitalization with a digital pen and tablet. Teach digitally, recording your screen and adding a voice-over. This modern approach offers clarity akin to the traditional method but in a digital way.
4. Green Screen Magic:
Move beyond newscasters and sci-fi movies. Utilize a green screen as a backdrop, allowing you to showcase images, animations, and more. Though editing may take a bit longer, the captivating results are worth it.
How to Create Engaging Educational Videos for YouTube Audiences?
Everyone wants to create outstanding educational videos. But, no one is sure if they will be able to hold the attention of the viewer till the very end of the video.
Declining attention span is one reason why brands have dived into the pond of short clips. YouTube shorts are being seen as a useful tool to grow content reach as well as bring in more subscribers.
While short form content is the go-to option for many, there’s no reason to believe that every creator, specifically those who’re in the educational domain, will be able to get the maximum reach for their content.
Most of us create content consistently, and witness it growing in views in the first few weeks only to see this great start crumble to nothing in a month or two.
That’s one thing that seems to be bothering most of the creators on YouTube.
How about a fail-proof strategy to create educational content that’s not just engaging, but seriously impactful, and never loses reach over time?
It’s sure to kick-in, and help you get on track with the goal you set out for your educational YouTube channel. If you need detailed info, make sure to check out How to make animated educational videos for YouTube.
Be mindful of the dos and don’ts, so you know what you’re doing.
Identify your audience, list goals, and essential video metrics
Starting off you want to define your target audience, set clear goals for your video, and establish metrics to determine if the video got the desired result.
Dos and Don’ts:
Research your audience’s preferences and tailor content accordingly
Don’t ignore the need of setting high-level metrics to measure video’s impact
Write a script for your educational video
The next thing you want for an educational video is the outline of a structured script that aligns with your goals, ensuring a coherent and engaging narrative.
Dos and Don’ts:
Break down complex concepts into enticing video segments attract and educate your audience
Don’t rely solely on the script; Make sure to sync visuals with your script
Paint your narrative with the best visuals
People are on YouTube to consume great content. Be it bite-sized content or long-form videos that continue for several minutes, be sure to create a heart-touching story.
Dos and Don’ts:
Use diverse visuals like graphics, animations, and real-world examples for a dynamic experience
Don’t go overboard with visuals; It’s best to strike a balance for better comprehension.
Arrange for a quality voiceover for your educational video.
Opt for an engaging narration that complements the visuals and keeps viewers connected. Ideally, you want to humanize the script with a touching voiceover.
Dos and Don’ts:
Make sure to speak at a moderate pace, emphasizing key points for better retention.
Don’t neglect audio quality; ensure crisp and clear voice recording.
Edit, polish, and enrich your video with accessibility elements.
This may sound like the least important thing, but getting it right can do wonders for video SEO. So, make sure to enhance your video by editing, adding polish, and incorporating accessibility features for a broader audience reach.
Dos and Don’ts:
Do add subtitles, captions, and alternative text to grow your reach
Don’t compromise on video quality during the editing process; maintain a professional look and feel.
Bottomline
Let’s wrap this one up.
In this blog, I literally covered everything on educational animation videos.
We started off with real insight on why they’re working best in online classrooms, and proving to be ideal for public messaging.
Next, we dove into four key benefits by underlining the most cumbersome issues with creating educational content. We figured out how animated educational videos might help you resolve them.
Next, we shared eight of the best examples of animated videos made for learning.
Last but not the least, there are small, easy-to-digest guides on educational vlog, educational animation cost, and a precise guide on creating educational videos for youtube.
So, if you need inspiration, feel free to return to this blog.
Anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is an animated educational video?
An animated educational video is content that is curated to motivate learners. It may come as a tool to spark creative thinking among students, allowing them to solve complex problems with ease. Animated videos are a sure-fire way to turn lessons into fun and engaging stories. More importantly, these videos are cost-effective and time-savvy.
What are the benefits of animated videos in learning?
The most prominent benefit of animated videos for learning is the immersive visual experience that makes learning a joyful experience. In a notable study by Insivia, we learnt that viewers are likely to retain 95% of a lesson from a video against only 10% retention from textual medium. This highlights the primary benefit of animated videos to induce quick learning.
How does animation help children?
Animation is likely to help children in a variety of ways. Primarily, it helps them to put location, size and shape of objects in clear perspective and understand the relation of each other. It can even teach them a great deal about their surroundings.
What is the educational use of animation?
A noteworthy use of animation in education is the depiction of complex concepts using fun, and enticing visuals. Along with enhancing messaging, educational animated videos may work well to improve retention. Without question, our brains can process images at great speeds.
Is animation better for learning?
The reason why animation becomes a better tool for learning is it makes education entertaining and fun. Research shows that 40% of people are more driven by visuals, and animation itself can be great to inspire students and spark creative thinking among them.
What is the effectiveness of videos in teaching?
Videos are effective for teaching as they’re likely to draw interest, and engage students in a more active manner. As a result, students achieve better performance. Animation is likely to pique the curiosity of students, enabling them to recall material more easily. Videos are readily accessible and can be watched over and over, so it fosters an environment for discussions, and group learning.
What teaching strategy uses videos?
A teaching strategy that uses videos is known as video-assisted learning (VAL). It refers to bite-sized videos to illustrate educational concepts. It is solely aimed at helping students easily comprehend information, enhance cognitive function, and even familiarize with ideal social behavior.
Ahmed's a Content Marketer with 3+ years' experience. He adores hand-drawn animation, and keeps updated with the latest trends in VTubing, and Digital Marketing. He flexes his creative muscle by engaging in scriptwriting with SaaS teams for their amazing ads.
