Integrating Videos Into Instruction.

  Up until recently, I just showed a video on my smart board before doing a lecture but after reading some things I've discovered there are ways to make video watching more effective.


When I grew up, you just watched the movie  before filling out a worksheet associated with the movie and you hoped you remembered enough to fill it out.

There are suggestions as to how to prepare videos so they are more effective than just watching it and hoping the students learn the content the way you hope.


Step One:  Watch the video or video clip to make sure the material on it matches the objective fully.  Why show something that does not illustrate the topic.

Step Two: Use a program to cut the clip down to cover exactly what you need. 

Step Three: Add in questions, comments, and commentaries so students have a way of knowing what the teacher considers important.

Step Four: Create a set of guided notes to accompany the video with blanks for students to fill in with key concepts or other important information.

Before you have the students watch the video ask a few questions to help activate prior knowledge so they establish a connection.  In addition, give them a reason for watching the video.  If you are showing the video in class, pause it often so they can fill out the guided reading other wise they try to scribble down answers verbatim and they miss other important information.

If they watch the video outside of school, suggest they pause the video as needed to complete the worksheet.  When the movie is done, have them complete another activity such as journaling, completing graphic organizer.

There are lots of different websites you can go to in order to add voice over, quizzes, questions, etc to help students identify the material that you as a teacher feel they need to know.  Most students need guidance and this is a way to do it.  Give it some thought and let me know what you think.