The Benefits of Using Educational Video in The Classroom

There is substantial research promoting the use of video in the classroom as a dynamic resource for supporting curricula. According to a recent teacher survey, 94% of classroom teachers have effectively used video during the course of the last academic year. And most teachers were using it frequently - on average, once per week. But why?.

As educators, our aim is to get students energized and engaged in the hands-on learning process, and video is clearly an instructional medium that is compelling and generates a much greater amount of interest and enjoyment than the more traditional printed material. Using sight and sound, video is the perfect medium for students who are auditory or visual learners. With the added use of subtitles each child then has the choice to watch, listen to, or read each presentation. Video stimulates and engages students creating interest and maintaining that interest for longer periods of time, and it provides an innovative and effective means for educators to address and deliver the required curriculum content.

Video creates an experience…

Consider teaching with the voices from the past by introducing students to great historians, political figures and famous people who lived centuries ago. Envision the classroom in which children hear the cry of a nearly extinct species and see the colors and hear the sounds of animals that thrive only in a remote wilderness half way around the world. And what about investigating the laws of motion, sound and energy transfer by viewing the launch of the space shuttle on its voyage into space? Think about how much easier it would be to understand the diverse cultures of people who live in other areas of the world if you could encounter them in their own environments - hearing their songs, observing their rituals or listening to their silence.

The benefits of using video in education includes providing a sensory experience that allows concepts and ideas to actually become an experience and come to life as students are guided through each adventure.

Video as a flexible teaching medium…

The more interested and engaged students are, and the more interactive each learning session is, the more students will enjoy, learn from and retain information from the lesson.

Video provides a means of interactive instruction and is a very flexible medium. Having the ability to stop, start and rewind is absolutely invaluable. It provides the option to stop each video and challenge students to predict the outcome of a demonstration, and elaborate on, or debate a point of historical reference. You also have the option to rewind a section of the video to review a segment to ensure that children understand a key concept. You can ensure to add further interactivity by copying activities, conducting discussions or repeating demonstrations and experiments in the your classroom.

Effectively using video in the classroom...

Research has demonstrated that the most effective way to use video is as an enhancement to a lesson, or unit of study. Video should be used as a facet of instruction along with other resource material available to you for teaching a particular topic. Teachers should prepare for the use of a video in the classroom in the same way they do with other teaching aids or resources. Specific learning objectives should be determined in advanced, instructional sequences should be developed and reinforcement activities planned.

However using the most appropriate online educational video service provider is extremely important so each teacher has the confidence in advance of the quality of the content and instruction provided. Using the right online educational video service should help teachers or parents to minimize lesson preparation time by enabling them to easily identify and select the right video for the lesson, and draw upon the other resources provided by that service to enhance the learning outcomes, and the quality and benefits of each lesson.