Video is an incredibly powerful tool for teaching and learning and is an essential part of your classroom management plan. It's the ideal way to help you reach students who might otherwise be hard to reach and make your lessons more engaging. It can also be a good fit for both the classroom and distance learning.
Let's examine why video is so helpful and how you can incorporate it into your lessons.
How videos can help in children's education
Using video in classes is a more interactive and engaging way of being involved in the process of learning. But that's not all there is to it!
Visual learning is one of the most efficient ways in which children learn.
People learn more quickly and acquire knowledge through visual cues, and that's because 65% of the population is made up of visual learners. But most people gain knowledge through more than just one channel.
Imagine adding audio and text to the visual – more sensory input (information presented in different ways) means more retention. And the research backs this up: students who use video learn more easily than those who don't.
Ways to incorporate videos in your in-person lessons
If you're an educator, you've probably been asked to incorporate more videos into your lessons. But how do you do that? How can you use video to make your class more engaging and help students retain information?
Well, here are the best ways:
1. Use video to explain complex concepts.
Use a video clip to illustrate a concept in your lecture that might be too complicated to explain in words alone – like how the earth revolves around the sun. You could have students watch Ted Talks or other educational videos from YouTube or Vimeo.
2. Use videos as homework.
This is great for younger students because it lets them know they're expected to watch something outside class time.
You can also use this time to find out what questions they have so that you have a better idea of how to answer them in future lessons. Be sure not to make them too long—5-10 minutes max!
3. Showcase student work.
Showcasing student work through video allows others outside your classroom access to what's happening inside your classroom. This also gives parents another way to stay connected with what their kids are working on at school.
4. Use video as a visual aid for a lecture or demonstration.
You can show videos depicting real-world applications that allow your students to visualize the lessons better.
For example, if you're teaching your students about the history of the automobile, you won't have any actual cars in your classroom. So, playing a video that shows how they were built and what they looked like will allow your students to visualize better.
5. Have students create videos.
This is one of the best ways to use videos! Assign students groups of two to four people each, and have them create their own video about a specific topic or skill using any available resources.
Students love creating their content because it allows them to show off their creativity while reinforcing whatever skills they're practicing (like preparing and writing a script and conveying ideas verbally).
6. Use videos as rewards.
Give little breaks in which students can watch funny or feel-good videos to reward their interest and implication in class.
You can prepare some YouTube videos before class and squeeze them during the lesson. These can also include music videos or short comedic skits.
7. Use videos as a warm-up activity.
Before class starts, have students watch a short clip about what they will learn that day. This helps them focus on the topic at hand and increase their motivation!
Types of videos that work best for different age groups
You may notice that kids lose interest in your lectures. The problem might be that you're teaching in a medium that isn't conducive to the age group that you're trying to reach.
Educational videos for students differ from videos used typically for children in elementary school. That's why it's so important for teachers to understand what types of videos work best for different age groups.
For example, if you're trying to teach older kids about the Civil War, stick with a narrated video from History Channel or something similar— animations can confuse them. If they were younger, animated clips might help them remember the information better because they'd associate it with something fun instead of just boring facts.
Examples of types of classroom teaching videos
There are tons of different types of videos that you can use for teaching and learning, but here are some of the most popular:
1. Screencasting
A screencast is a video recording of your computer screen, showing all the actions you perform.
Screencasts are great for demonstrating how to do something, and you can even use them remotely. They can be recorded by using a software program like Loom or Bandicam.
2. Live-Streaming
Live-streaming is a way to record an event in real-time and make it available online to watch later. Live-streaming works best when you're doing something that's happening right now, and people want to see it as it happens.
3. Interactive Videos and Tutorials
Interactive tutorials like Khan academy or SelfCAD work well if you want people to have fun while learning something new! Interactive videos can also comprise quizzes or games that users can engage with while watching.
4. Documentary Films
Documentary films often show real-world events or situations in an entertaining way, so they're great for teaching history or science topics!
5. Simulations and Virtual Tours
Virtual reality is the best way to get students excited about your lesson and give them an immersive experience. These allow them to interact with and experience the activity or material.
Pros of using video in class
Using video content in class sounds like a fantastic idea. But does it have any drawbacks? Let's take a look at all the advantages and disadvantages.
1. They are immersive.
Video is more engaging than other media and can be used to teach students in a way that makes them feel more like participants in the learning process than spectators.
2. You can easily edit videos.
You can edit and format videos for different learning styles and comprehension levels, allowing for personalized instruction for each student in a class or online course.
3. Digital natives love it.
Video lectures cater to digital natives who have grown up with technology and have a natural affinity for it. This allows them to engage with their teacher naturally and lets them work at their own pace, whether at 1x or 8x speed.
4. Children can revisit lessons.
You can share videos across devices and platforms so that students can access important information in school as well as at home. This is helpful when they need a refresher before moving on.
5. You can record lectures.
This goes hand in hand with the idea above. Students can rewatch the recorded lecture if they want to return to any ideas discussed in class. Many prominent universities do this and publish their courses online, even for the public to see.
cons of using video in class
1. More Screentime, Less Genuine Interaction
Video allows teachers less face-time with students than traditional lectures do; This can also mean they won't get a sense of whether students fully understand what they've learned.
2. Less Interest
Some students might feel like they can skip class when there's so much material available online to watch later at home.
3. Low Quality Can Distract
If the camera moves too much, if the audio is low quality, or if there are visual distractions on screen, it could be difficult for students to focus on what's being said. There are some ways around this; for example, you can counteract bad audio by adding subtitles to video online.
4. Preparation Required
With traditional lectures, you must come up with the right words and present them. But with video, you have to record the content, edit it – or look for it if you're using videos from other platforms. You also might have to upload it somewhere—which takes time and effort.
5. Technology Failure
There are so many mistakes that can take place when planning a lesson and creating a strategy. Common ones also include the dreaded technical difficulties. If your computer freezes or crashes during playing (or editing), you may be unable to finish your coursework or class on time.
Videos can also use a lot of bandwidth, so you'll need to ensure the internet connection is fast enough to stream the video without any interruptions or buffering issues.
final thoughts
Visual learning paired with audio can facilitate acquiring new information and knowledge in children. On top of that, classroom video integration can work for almost any subject and student. However, the most crucial element is the teacher's willingness and openness to use these multimedia tools to enhance the learning experience.
about the author
Olivia Morris is a content manager at Movavi Software Inc. She has a passion for writing helpful texts about technology that changes lives for the better. Olivia loves her work and believes that every person should have access to quality software.
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I really enjoyed your article! I have taught at both the high school and middle school levels and have found that videos can be a helpful tool, especially during the pandemic. I’ve heard the advice before of ‘not fighting the youtube generation,’ and I feel it is appropriate for this digital age generation. The biggest thing is to make sure to keep your kids’ attention and that the video is appropriate for what it is you are teaching.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!