School Videos in the Classroom

For every educational technique or method, there are supporters and detractors. Does the use of school videos work for any method? I am a firm believer in the value of well-made and well-chosen videos as a tool in the classroom. What about in Direct Instruction classrooms? Does it work there too?

Whatever your thoughts on Direct Instruction, it’s hard to argue with results like the following: Siefert Elementary in Milwaukee was one of the worst schools in the state. In just three years, they raised the number of fourth graders who scored proficient or better in reading from 22 percent to 57 percent. Math proficiency went from 11 percent to 48 percent, and social studies saw an increase from 13 percent proficiency to 61 percent.

All due to Direct Instruction, Seifert says. In this model, teacher and student interact in a prescribed way. That is, a concept is explained explicitly and a demonstration given – all while students and teachers interact continuously to ensure students understand the material. It is very teacher-focused, as opposed to more exploratory, experimental models. While it may sound contrary to how many of us teach and were taught to teach, the research backs this method up. So how does a school video fit into the lesson plan of a Direct Instruction classroom?

The truth is that it fits in exactly as it should in any classroom. The video doesn’t become the teacher – the teacher is still a vital part of this lesson (or should be. Put the grading pen down and participate, teachers!). There is teacher engagement at all steps of the video process – you can’t really put your feet up and watch it like you would television.

From pre-viewing activities to post-viewing follow-ups, the teacher needs to teach. The video, as wonderful as many of them are, can never take your place. Many teachers, regardless of whether they are in DI classrooms, stop the video, ask questions, and point out items of particular interest. Activities like these are really what make videos so effective in any type of classroom.

The point is to realize that media is not passive. Videos should be part of active learning where teachers and students interact with each other and the material. Whether or not you are a proponent of DI, there can be no arguing with the anecdotal and scientific evidence that videos are extremely effective when used correctly. To ensure that you are getting all that you should be out of any video you share with your students – and that they are actively engaged, click here.

It has been said that our world is moving faster than it ever has before, and that our attention spans are shrinking to fit those changes. Unsurprisingly, students today are more difficult to entertain than ever before. Oftentimes it is difficult to get them to pay attention at all, if a teacher has developed a reputation for being boring. It is important to adapt our teaching methods to these changing times. One way to do this is through the use of educational dvds.

When used correctly, these tools can help to keep your students interested in the lesson plans that you have written. When interspersed with your usual cirriculum, educational dvds can provide a chance for students to learn in new and exciting ways. This keeps your lessons from becoming monotonous and gives students something to look forward to. With all the technology that is currently being used in classrooms, it would be a shame to let something as powerful as school videos go to waste.

If you’re ready to start to stop making “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” and start experiencing the benefits of using video effectively in your classroom, your next step is to download a free copy of “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” right now.

There are many reasons why school videos are important in school. They provide a visual to what is being taught in the classroom. They are interesting to watch because you are actually seeing what is being explained rather than just looking at a teacher the whole class period. Other than these two reasons there are many more to consider.

Usually when hearing that there is going to be a video during the class period, students will take this as a time to take a nape, pass notes, skip class, etc. Unfortunately, some students do this and some do not. I have asked some people how their views on videos in school were, and surprisingly, even some of the bad students said that they remembered a lot of the videos and that they wish they had paid more attention back then because it was actually interesting what they were “learning” from the videos. However, being a young teen in high school, they only halfway paid attention to the videos, which is why they do not remember all of them.

If we make sure that videos that are being displayed in the classroom are interesting videos then we have more of a chance that he students will watch them. Obviously choosing boring videos with a boring monotone voice explaining the video will be boring to them. The good thing about videos is that due to the visuals in the videos, students are more likely to soak in, and remember what they are watching, because it is more interesting when you see what is going on, rather than being explained it in class by the teacher, and having to use your own imagination to create an image.

School videos are a positive part of the classroom and should continue expanding young adolescent minds into the world of education.

By using videos consistently in instruction, you can take advantage of the natural interests of your students to watch and listen to teach your lesson objectives more effectively  and more efficiently.

Choosing the right school videos to supplement regular class work can be challenging. On one hand, you want to find a way to appeal to students on their level—and in the age of MySpace, YouTube and iPods, school videos seem like a good choice.

On the other hand, you don’t want the kids to just zone out or write off the video as boring simply because it’s being shown in a classroom. When it comes to class movies, students have a tendency to approach them the same way they look at healthy food—if it’s good for you, then it can’t possibly be any good.

I’ve found that the best approach when showing a video is to make it as interactive an activity as possible. That means pausing the video at certain points and having an informal class discussion about what has been viewed so far. Since most educational videos come with a lesson plan, it’s not very difficult to find useful discussion guidelines.

I also make it a point to ask kids what they think an answer or result will be (“How many salmon do you think will survive the migration?” or “How do think Einstein felt when his teacher told him he wasn’t intelligent? How would you feel if someone told you that now?” or “How do you think Helen Keller is going to get around the fact she can’t go to school with other kids?”) before I show them the result. This keeps them interested.

The best advice I can give, however, is to never rely on a video as the sole part of a lesson plan. A school video should never stand alone but instead should be merely a small part of an entire lesson plan.

If you’re ready to start to stop making “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” and start experiencing the benefits of using video effectively in your classroom, your next step is to download a free copy of “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” right now.