Adding Video to Textbooks and Training Materials: A Guide for Teachers and Organizations
Add video to textbooks, worksheets, manuals and internal training documents: students or employees point their phone at an image on the page and an explainer video plays.
Printed learning material is still the foundation of learning: textbooks, worksheets, lab sheets, user manuals and internal training documents. But some topics can't be explained on paper: the steps of an experiment, how a machine works, the correct way to perform a movement or how a word is pronounced. Linking a video to an image on the page closes that gap.
How does it work?
The student or employee scans the QR code on the page once and allows camera access on the page that opens in the browser. Then, whenever they point their phone at an image on the page, the explainer video for that image plays. Moving to another image in the book opens its video.
No app, account or login is required. This matters especially in schools, where asking students or parents to install a new app is often not an option.
Where can it be used?
- Textbooks and study guides: topic explanations, worked solutions, experiment videos. At home, students open the teacher's explanation straight from the page.
- Language learning: pronunciation and dialogue videos for vocabulary cards and texts.
- Lab and workshop sheets: step-by-step footage of the experiment or exercise, with safety notes.
- Vocational training and course material: machine operation, maintenance and repair steps.
- Internal training and onboarding: safety rules, process walkthroughs, introductions for new staff.
- User manuals: setup and troubleshooting videos (see adding a how-to video to packaging).
Why the image itself instead of a QR code?
Putting a separate QR code on the page for every topic clutters the page and spoils the design. With image recognition, the trigger is the figure, photo or drawing on the page itself. Students watch the video for whatever they're looking at; a single QR code, scanned once to get in, is enough. For a comparison, see QR code vs image recognition.
Making training videos
- Keep them short: each video should cover a single topic or step. Splitting a long lesson into short videos lets learners jump straight to what they need.
- Think of the phone screen: text and drawings should be large enough to read on a small screen.
- Make them work without sound: in class or on public transport, videos may be watched muted; show key information as on-screen text too.
- Keep them current: when the curriculum or process changes, replace the video; there's no need to reprint the material.
Will the images be recognized?
Images in learning material are sometimes simple drawings or similar-looking diagrams. For reliable recognition, choose detailed images that differ from one another. The dashboard warns you when you upload two images that look too alike. Before printing, you can run your images through the free image test and review the print image checklist.
Track usage
All scans are reported in the dashboard. You can see which topic's video is opened most, on which days and at what times learners study, and how much of each video is watched. This also shows where extra support may be needed. Visitor data is collected without cookies and without storing personal data.
Examples for schools, publishers and training organizations are on the education page.