7 ways to use video in the classroom

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Interestingly, a high proportion of the 18 million plus 'how to' videos on YouTube have been uploaded by young people. Countless school and college-aged kids are using online video as a way to informally learn and teach – completely under their own steam, and without any adult direction!

It makes you wonder… could this be something teachers use to engage their tech-savvy students?

In short, yes! Below you’ll find 7 ways to use classroom-created video content as part of the everyday teaching and learning experience – from recording lessons for revision to encouraging online peer-assessment to sharing the learning journey with parents.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a camera and get filming!

(Image: intofilm.org)

1. Capturing learning
No matter how engaging and inspiring the lesson, the sound of a school bell tends to act as a ‘reset’ button in the minds of students – especially if it signals lunch time! By capturing key parts of a lesson with video and placing it online, teachers can create a permanent record of the learning, allowing students to access it, on-demand, at any time.

And like the ‘catch up’ services that TV channels now offer, it provides a valuable resource to students who may have missed the lesson, or who simply need a reminder of what was covered.

2. Creating learning objectives
The ability to provide engaging learning objectives, and for students to be aware of how their learning progress fits with these, is a crucial part of the learning process.

At the start of a class, play back a video clip from the students’ previous lesson and through class discussion and teacher questioning, use the clip as a basis for drawing up students’ learning objectives for the current lesson. Ask the students:

• What stage did they get to last lesson?
• What needs to be improved upon?
• What’s the main thing that they need to focus on?

Objectives can either be whole-class, or individually drawn up by students or groups within the class for project work.

At the end of the lesson, play back some key clips from the current lesson. Ask the students to think back to the objectives they set at the start of the lesson – and again, through class discussion and teacher questioning, have them assess their progress against these objectives. It’s a great way of making their progress real and tangible to students, and maintaining the learning momentum from lesson to lesson.

3. Peer assessment
Video has the power to take peer assessment to a new level – particularly in practical and performance subjects such as music, drama and dance, where it can play a crucial role in supporting students’ learning.

A student performance placed online can spark a deep discussion. Ask your students to critique each other’s work as part of their homework, perhaps giving them something particular to focus on – for example, the use of space in a dance piece or characterisation in a dramatic performance.

For examination subjects, this can be a great way of students getting familiar with the assessment criteria and mark scheme – give them a copy of it, and have them ‘mark’ each others’ performance videos, leaving a comment and justifying their marks!

4. Student-created content
It’s always been said that the best way to learn something is to teach it – and by creating their own video content, students can do just that.

After covering a concept in class, ask students to create a short video in which they explain the concept or topic in their own words – and encourage them to be creative in how they demonstrate their learning! This encourages students to really think about what’s been covered in class, and explaining a concept in their own words really helps to cement the learning in their minds.

This works particularly well as a group activity – students have a lot of fun creating videos. It’s the perfect way to make those dry, theoretical topics practical and engaging.

When it comes to revision time too, students will have access to engaging videos of themselves and their friends explaining concepts, which will be infinitely more interesting than the usual PowerPoint files and word documents!

5. Teacher-created content
It’s been proven that good quality teaching has a profound impact on students’ success and life chances – and with online video, it’s now possible for teachers within a department to create an engaging bank of videos explaining key concepts and topics for students to access at any time.

Creating a video is simply a case of explaining a concept to the camera in the normal way, with a camera pointing toward the teacher or board, then uploading this online for students to access. Alternatively, if you don’t fancy appearing on screen, screencasting software (QuickTime has this built in) and iPad apps such as 'Explain Everything' allow you to create video ‘how to’ guides. Simply record what is happening on screen and narrate over the top.

Get started by talking to your departmental colleagues about the concepts that students struggle with most, then divide them up and get filming. Share your finished videos with colleagues and pupils to see what works and what doesn’t.

6. Flipping learning
The ‘flipped classroom’ is a concept which was developed by teachers in America, and which has started to spread around the world.

(Image: sonomanews.com)

Normally, teachers stand at the front of the class and deliver content to all of the students at the same time – and after this, the students then apply the knowledge, often as a homework task. The ‘flipped’ concept turns this model on its head – instead of standing in front of the class and delivering the content, the teacher creates an online video, which students watch before the lesson.

This frees up class time for activities which let students apply that knowledge – and frees up the teacher to circulate the classroom and deliver more personalised support to students.

With online video, students can learn at their own pace, on any device, anywhere – putting them in complete control of when, where and how they learn.

7. Sharing the learning journey with parents
Online parental reporting is now a familiar feature in many secondary schools – but often, it revolves around dry numbers, figures and charts. Parents may be able to find out that little Johnny has risen 2 sub levels in Music, but what does that really tell them?

By using video to share students’ learning journeys with parents, schools can provide a window into students’ school lives and learning which is so much more engaging and insightful than numbers alone.

The question ‘what did you do at school today?’ has become something of a running joke, because it’s so difficult for parents to get a sense of what their children are doing and learning during the school day – but by using online video to share the learning journey, schools can finally answer that question for parents.

By James Cross, Educator in Residence at MediaCore.

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Building support for project-based learning

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Image: nga.org

One of the key determinants of project-based learning success is the support from other teachers, the headteacher and your students’ parents.

After all, you’ll need your head’s consent to get started and you’ll need the support of your colleagues to develop and implement a high-quality project, especially if it’s your first time.

But how can you convince everyone of the value of PBL? And even if you can, how can you prove to them that it’s all going to go according to your carefully made plans?

Well, chances are it’s not all going to go according to plan, but there are a number of things you can do to get everyone on board and keep them there.

Getting the nod from your head
You know what your headteacher is like and what concerns them. The Innovation Unit’s guide to project-based learning suggests pre-empting what might worry them about PBL and what they're likely to bring up as a reason for not giving your project the go-ahead, and then planning how you’re going to prove them wrong.

For example, if your head is worried that PBL won’t be academically rigorous enough, prepare a detailed outline of the curriculum content you’re going to cover and how you’re going to do it. If perhaps, your head is worried that PBL won’t suit all students (i.e. those with special educational needs), make sure you've got thorough plans for how you're going to differentiate.

It’s worth reading up on project-based learning in order to build up a strong case for it. This fantastic Edutopia blog post by Bob Lenz highlights three concerns about PBL – basically, reasons people will give for not going for it – and explains why they’re just not true. In this post, also from Edutopia, John Larmer of the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) does something similar.

If your head won’t agree to a full-scale, whole school extravaganza, see if you can carry out a small-scale project with your class or even just a target group (i.e. more able learners). It’s probably best to start small anyway – and the mind-blowing success of your mini project will no doubt convince your head that it could work on a much larger level!

Remember to invite your headteacher to your culminating exhibition, as well as other members of staff with clout (the deputy head, department heads, governors etc.) – your students will be able to tell them first-hand what an amazing experience they've had and demonstrate the skills they learned during the project.

Convincing your colleagues
Perhaps you’re the headteacher and you’re hoping to persuade the rest of your staff that PBL is the way forward. Or perhaps you’re a Year 7 class teacher with a brilliant whole-year project idea in mind, but the other Year 7 teachers aren't so sure. Whatever your situation, there are ways to convert other teachers to your cause.

First, make sure to be sensitive to their fears – PBL can be scary! Teachers are trained to be in charge – they plan lessons and they deliver lessons. In PBL, this is taken away from them; they are supposed to ensure students succeed and now they have to watch them fail.

Image: lphs.school.net

To counter this fear, make sure they know exactly what PBL is and what will be expected of them. A whole-staff inset event that explains the philosophy behind PBL (along with some concrete examples), why you want to do it and how every member of staff is going to supported throughout the project will work wonders. It will also give you a chance to gather ideas and consider logistics ahead of planning.

Visiting other schools that have successfully implemented project-based learning is also a good idea – perhaps you could attend another school’s final exhibition with your colleagues. This is a great opportunity to talk to other teachers who've just completed a (hopefully!) successful PBL unit and convince other staff members from your own school that it’s a great experience and worth it at the end.

Persuading suspicious parents
Another group to get on board is your students' parents. The Innovation Unit suggests giving all parents and students a copy of your project sheet before the start of your PBL unit. This should include:

• the project title
• length of the project (i.e. 8 weeks)
• main teachers involved (plus their contact details)
• the project’s driving question
• the final product(s) students will work towards
• expected outcomes (i.e. By the end of the project, students will know…/students will be able to…)
• a project timeline.

This will reassure parents that the work their children will be doing is structured, well thought-out and rigorous. Alternatively, send out a letter, pre-empting and placating any possible concerns parents might have and encouraging them to get involved. You can download a great example of a letter from BIE here.

It’s also a good idea to hold an entry event for parents. If you’ve not done a project in your school before and don’t have any previous projects to use as an example (photos, testimonies and student work are all great ways to emphasise the project's success), you might like to use a video to explain to parents what PBL is and how it’ll benefit their kids. We recommend this one from BIE.

Also, try and explain PBL to parents with concrete examples and avoid educational jargon. One huge barrier to parental involvement is parents thinking they’re not smart enough to do anything useful. If they don’t understand PBL, they won’t want to get involved and giving them this opportunity to play some part in their children’s learning journey is a brilliant way to get them enthusiastic and supportive!

You can see if any of your students’ parents have special expertise, interests, hobbies, or skills that connect to your project, but even if they don’t, encourage them to do something small to help – maybe see if they can come in and help set up the final exhibition, or even watch students’ final presentations and judge their speaking and listening skills.

Remember to keep parents updated throughout the project. Information can be sent home via email or uploaded to the school’s website. Another idea is to allow parents to view project work via Edmodo or class blogs.

But the best way of convincing parents of the value of PBL is, as with your head and other teachers, seeing its success first-hand. Make sure you give parents the date, time, and location of your final exhibition as early as possible. They’ll be so proud of what their children have accomplished and will be completely on board next time round.

Image: room1beckenham.blogspot.com

So, you’ve got the go-ahead from your headteacher, your colleagues are raring to go, as are your students’ parents… but what about the students themselves? In the next blog post in this series, we explore how to introduce your students to the project, and what makes a brilliant entry event.