Evaluating videos for the classroom

Videos can be extremely useful for enhancing your lessons and reinforcing concepts you are teaching. Even a subject like grammar can be made more interesting with the right video. Here is a video by Scholastic that could be used in a 6th grade English class:

Source: Scholastic on YouTube (standard YouTube license)

There are multiple ways a teacher could use a video like this. If a projector is available, it can be played for the class as part of a larger lesson on grammar. Another option, since it is on YouTube, the link could shared with students to watch on their own time, either in class or as homework. The teacher could supplement the video with a worksheet or quiz to assess student comprehension.

YouTube and Vimeo have millions of videos available at the click of a mouse. How do you find one that works for your class? 

In his Educator's Podcast Guide, Bard Williams of ISTE suggests answering 10 specific questions to guide the selection of podcasts for education. With slight adjustments (mostly replacing the word "podcast" with "video,") you can use the same 10 questions for evaluating videos that you are considering for your classroom. 

Let's go through all 10 questions and see how this video holds up!

Is the content appropriate for your current area of study?

Yes! The content of the video covers the eight parts of speech which is commonly covered in a middle school English classroom. 

Does the [video] add to or enhance your current lesson plan?

Yes! The video provides audio and visual elements that complement my in-class lectures and assignments. 

Does the content and production of the [video] meet school and community standards for acceptable use in your school?

Yes! The content is school appropriate. The video uses language and visuals that are acceptable for broadcast in my classroom.

Is the content of the [video] well organized and easy to follow?

Yes! The video focuses on the essential definitions of each part of speech and provides several examples for each. It follows Richard Mayer's coherence principle by avoiding the inclusion of unnecessary additional content. 

Is the content of the [video] compelling enough to hold the attention of your audience?

Most likely. The video includes eye catching graphics, entertaining music to accompany the lesson, and the speaker uses an informal conversational style that I believe would appeal to students at the middle school level. It follow's Richard Mayer's temporal contiguity principle by presenting graphics and narration simultaneously. 

Is the [video] in a digital format that works for your classroom?

Yes! YouTube videos are easily accessible through a web browser without the need to download files or install additional software. They are ideal for broadcasting in classrooms that have a projector attached to the teacher's computer. Alternatively, teachers can provide students with a link to the video so that they can watch it individually on their own devices. 

Was the [video] produced by a source you consider credible?

Yes! Scholastic is a credible publisher of educational materials and the man in this video, Marvin Terban, is a well-respected educator with over 40 years of teaching experience.

Is [watching the video] the best method of learning about this topic for your students?

It depends. This video moves rather quickly through the eight parts of speech. I believe this video can be an effective learning method for many students, but some students may learn these concepts better with one-on-one tutoring, or by reading about the parts of speech, at their own pace, from a book or teacher-generated worksheets. 

Is the [video] supported by additional online content (a Web site with further resources or archives, for example)?

Yes! Scholastic does offer additional videos with Marvin Terben covering other grammar topics. There is also a link to purchase a printed workbook by Terben that contains plans for expanding on these concepts through worksheets and exams. 

Does the [video] include any usage rights that limit the broadcast or distribution of content?

This video is licensed under standard YouTube copyright, which does have some limitations. I would be unable to download, distribute, or make modifications to the video. It must be viewed "as-is" through the YouTube website. Sharing the video with students, or playing it in the classroom, would be acceptable uses of the video.

Questions excerpted from from "Choosing the Right Podcasts for Your Classroom" Copyright 2007, ISTE ® (International Society for Technology in Education), Educator’s Podcast Guide, Bard Williams. www.iste.org

As we can see, this video meets nearly all of the criteria that Williams suggests in his article.

In my next post I am going to explore some of the resources available for teachers to create their own videos. 

Creating Infographics

Infographics combine information with images and graphics to present information about a topic in a visually appealing way.

I created the following infographic using Piktochart (www.piktochart.com). This is an example of how an infographic can be used as part of a pre-reading activity for literature, as in this case, to introduce students to background information prior to reading Of Mice And Men or The Grapes of Wrath.

Click to view larger

You can create free infographics at Easelly, Picktochart, or Infogr.am, These services make the infographic creation process simple enough to be accessible for most tech savvy high school students. While teaching students to incorporate images into their project, it can be a good opportunity to reinforce their knowledge of copyrights and encourage them to seek out images licensed under Creative Commons copyright. (Images in my example above were sourced from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons attribution license that allows republication.)

As a lesson and assignment idea, teachers can assign the creation of infographics as an alternative to a traditional report. For example, in a social studies classroom: After researching the 13 original American colonies, students will demonstrate knowledge by creating an infographic combining key dates, statistics, and facts with relevant images, maps, and graphics. Students can then share their infographics with each other on a class website or wiki to expand their learning on a subject.