Abstract:

Rapid technological advances and access to high-speed internet through various personal devices have significantly affected the learning environment in higher education, including the acceleration of implementing various AI software in literary criticism courses. Multiple examples of successful explainer video development and use have emphasized its positive impact on students' emotional engagement, heightened focus, finer grasp of the course content and critical thinking skills development [Krämer & Böhrs, 2018; Carmichael, Reid & Karpicke, 2018; Yuliani, Yulianto & Hartanto, 2021].
Watching explainer videos and producing their own video materials enables students to take charge of their learning process. However, our previous research shows that even though students prefer watching videos when searching for information, the majority lack experience with video content development. The presented study explores the development, quality and study benefits of explainer videos covering the analysis of 20th-century English novels. To contribute to their digital competencies and critical thinking development, pre-service English Language teachers produced explainer videos for the English Literature course.
The differences in quality and demands on content development were examined by employing two types of software in the production of explainer videos, i.e. a manual design through MS PowerPoint and an automated design through an AI-powered script and explainer video generator.
Each study group was divided in half to employ both the manual and automated design. The students' attitudes to the explainer video use and design, as well as comparison and assessment of the videos' development process, tools, quality and study benefits, were collected through three questionnaires at the beginning and upon completion of the research project.

Keywords:

Higher education, AI content generators, English literature, course, explainer video, evaluation, benefits.