What makes a good quantum outreach video? An evaluation framework for a quantum video playlist

Abstract

With increasing applications and industrialization of quantum-based technologies, quantum literacy is becoming progressively important for the general public. Online outreach videos are a popular tool due to their adaptability to complex contents. However, they can contain misinformation and foster inaccurate interpretations of quantum principles. The European Quantum Technology Flagship is addressing this by curating educational materials available to the public. Nevertheless, the community is still lacking an unambiguous method to assess the explanatory quality of quantum videos. Such a development would benefit teachers, science communicators and those who want to foster quantum knowledge outside of specialist endeavors. To close this gap, we iteratively developed an evaluative framework for quantum outreach videos, drawing on existing literature concerning educational videos. Two raters applied the final version of the framework to 20 videos (Cohen’s kappa 0.48). The results showed that some subcategories were coded rarely or not reliably enough, so a condensed version of the framework was introduced (Cohen’s kappa 0.59). We foresee an application of this framework to collections of quantum outreach videos. It illuminates the aspects to consider when creating such videos and highlights the importance of better defining how using certain subcategories can improve the explanatory quality of a video.