Watching video is instantly engaging. I put a video on, and my students are captured. It's a way of making learning fun. And it’s repeatable – if you’ve made a video to explain a particular concept and a student finds it hard, or has forgotten it, they can just watch again.
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I use video in all sorts of ways:
WATCHING
Video is a way to get information quickly and enjoyably. Students work at their own pace; watch again if they want to, or skip through to information they need. For example, in a recent topic on digital citizenship I chose three very different videos (including a rap) to get them thinking. If I’m at the front talking, it might be too fast for some and boring to others. Anyway I’m not that good at rapping! Using video is also good for complex topics. Like when we were talking about how red and white blood cells work. Being able to watch an animation of the cells solidified what we had learnt. Other times I make short instructional videos so students can go home and remind themselves of what they’ve learnt. Or I give them a video and they go home and watch it, and we talk about it in class the next day. It can really save time.
MAKING
Students love presenting information in video form. In the past we often asked students to create a poster, but it’s easy for them to just regurgitate ideas they have found online – it doesn’t always encourage them to think deeply. With video they think about the information they’ve gathered, and then put it in their own words and work out how to present it. Learning through video is especially good with a student who isn’t a high achiever in traditional skills – writing or publishing, or being quiet and making nice borders. Suddenly video will capture them, and you’ll be surprised at their thinking and learning. With the digital citizenship project, students had to create their ICT user statement. One group of girls decided to do a video retelling of the three little pigs story, with the wolf representing a creepy cyber bully-type, and the pigs representing different reactions to things that are unsafe online. Students can get quite “yeh, yeh, don’t be mean online” about cyber safety – they know what adults want them to say. But for these girls, thinking about representing the information in a totally different way showed deeper understanding.