Now that we are back fully in person it’s helpful to review the purpose of videos in the classroom. When I was younger, we knew we had a sub when we arrived at school with the television with the VCR Tape (or later DVD) set up in the front of the room. Those days were always great but not necessarily great for learning. There is a difference between Schoolhouse Rock, Bill Nye, and the latest Disney movie. One is educational and one is a time filler. When it comes to video in the classroom there are a few different approaches you, as a teacher, can take. I’ve outlined those approaches below.

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Teacher Records Teaching Time

We’ve all experienced those moments where despite using the same examples and explanations, students struggle to understand the material when it’s presented in class but grasp the concept when watching a video (with the same example…I’m looking at you Khan Academy and my 5^th grade students). Using these videos in the classroom can be a valuable tool for enhancing student learning and engagement. Another way to utilize videos is by recording lectures or presentations for students to watch later. This method can also provide some extra benefits like better engagement and motivation of students, they can pause and rewind the video and take notes, they can watch it in their own pace, also it can be used as a form of evaluation, you can check if the students are understanding the concepts by looking at their questions and interactions with the video.

Additionally, recording your lectures can serve as a form of micro-professional development for yourself. You can observe your teaching style and identify areas for improvement. This can be done by setting up a camera and tripod in the classroom then starting and stopping the recording during class time.

Videos can also be used for a flipped classroom approach. Students watch the video before coming to class and use the class time for more interactive activities and discussions.

Supporting Classroom Instruction

I touched on this idea in the earlier section, but one way to differentiate learning for students is to provide videos as a supplement to what you are doing in the classroom. Videos provide visual aids to help students understand and remember the material better. For example, a video demonstration of a concept gives students a visual to better understand ideas more clearly than reading about it in a textbook.

For many students, videos are more engaging than text, and can help them stay focused and motivated to learn. Videos supply context to new vocabulary, which helps them understand and remember new words better.

One thing we always desire when helping to expand student knowledge is making sure we give real-world examples. Videos show students what they are learning and how it relates to the real world. Videos also provide students a window into other cultures and perspectives, which broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of diversity.

Discussions and Debates

When it comes to videos, there are endless possibilities on how to use them in the classroom. One way that I love using videos is to spark discussion or debates. The best way to do this is to introduce a topic through a video, then begin a discussion with prompts and questions based on the video. Within Schoology, you can do discussions in multiple ways, in person and online. There are benefits and challenges to both having discussions in class and online. One of the cool features within Schoology is for students to create a recorded response which you and your students can respond back the same way.

While this might be a little overwhelming to understand, let me give you some examples of video collections and/or sites that could be used for discussions and debates.

1. Khan Academy: This website offers a wide range of videos on various subjects, including math, science, history, and economics.
2. TED-Ed: This website offers animated and live-action videos that explain complex ideas in an engaging and easy-to-understand way.
3. National Geographic: This website offers a wide range of videos on various topics, including science, history, and geography.
4. Crash Course: This YouTube channel offers a wide range of videos on various subjects, including science, history, literature, and philosophy.
5. History.com: This website offers a wide range of historical videos, including interviews with experts and footage of historical events.
6. PBS Learning Media: This website offers a wide range of educational videos, including documentaries and instructional videos on various subjects.
7. The Open University Free Courses: This website offers a wide range of educational videos, including lectures and tutorials on various subjects.
8. Coursera: This website offers a wide range of educational videos, including lectures and tutorials on various subjects.
9. YouTube: This site has thousands of videos on a wide variety of subjects.

Creation or Curation

With the previous two sections focused on how you can use videos in the classroom, what I didn’t mention is how to access those videos. One easy way is to go through your favorite video platforms, like YouTube, then find videos to embed them into your Schoology course. The other option is to create your own video. To do this, here are a few tips and some basic steps you can use.

How to Make Your Video Tutorial

1. Plan the tutorial: Before creating the tutorial, plan out the content and structure. This includes deciding on the topic, outlining the main points, and deciding the best format for delivering the material (e.g., video, audio, text, etc.).
2. Gather materials: Collect any materials that will be needed for the tutorial, including images, videos, audio recordings, or text.
3. Create the tutorial: Use a program or software to create the tutorial. For a video tutorial, you can use a screen recording software like Microsoft Stream to capture your screen and your voice as you explain the steps.
4. Edit the tutorial: Review the tutorial and make any necessary edits. This includes trimming down the content, adding annotations, or adding captions to the video. This can all be done in Microsoft Stream or Clipchamp (Clipchamp is a free Microsoft tool that is the replacement for Movie Maker)
5. Publish the tutorial: Once the tutorial is complete, publish it to Schoology for students to view it.
6. Evaluate the tutorial: After publishing, evaluate the tutorial by getting feedback from students, then make any necessary changes.
7. Monitor and support: Check the students’ progress, be available for questions and clarifications, then provide additional resources for further learning.

Student Uses

So far, everything we covered is how you can create or use videos in the classroom. But I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you what is probably my favorite idea using videos, Student Assignments. Students at heart are smart, creative humans who want to express themselves. For many years, the only way students could be creative is through the written word or drawing. With the proliferation of smart phones, cheap cameras, and laptops with cameras, students now create videos with ease. Free software can help with editing. Giving them the ability to express themselves verbally will show you how much they understand a topic.  

When students create videos, there are a lot of different skills that they will apply. Look at these ideas for student assignments:

• All About Me: Students introduce themselves at the beginning of the year or course
• Show Understanding: Students answer questions related to your lesson that connect to your objective
• Storytelling: Students create a personal narrative, PSA, or memoir to share their experiences
• Historical Music Video: Students recreate historical events and set it to music
• Research: Students can create presentations of research findings or lab experiments
• Book Reviews: Students summarize literary or historical texts
• Explainer videos: Students explain mathematical or scientific concepts to an audience
• Documentaries: Students use the medium of video to create documentaries on current events or social issues related to the content in class
• Book Trailers: Students create a trailer for a book to encourage others to read it
• Virtual Tours: Students record a trip to historical sites or landmarks
• Newscasts: Student interviews with experts or community members
• Portfolio & Reflection: Students create a video portfolio of their work and reflect on the work

As you can see, there are many benefits to using video in the classroom; from creating your own instructional videos to allowing students to showcase their learning through video projects. The possibilities are endless and with the right approach, videos can be a powerful tool for enhancing learning in the classroom. What ideas do you have? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.