Seven Reasons to Use Instructional Videos in the Classroom

Ever wondered how you could create a situation in which you were in multiple places at one time within the classroom? The power of technology opens up possibilities for teachers to do just that! One of the best examples is taking advantage of the ability to create and share instructional videos with your students.  

Here are seven reasons why you should be using instructional videos in your classroom.  

1. Students Work at Own Pace

One of the most powerful aspects of having students watch instructional videos is they can learn at their own pace. Allowing students to pause, rewind, and even fast forward instruction provides students control and ownership over their learning. Not only can they control the video, they can also adjust the speed of the narration. This helps in comprehension.

2. Students Choose the Time & Place

Creating instructional videos allows your students the opportunity to choose when and where they learn. Although you may require students to watch the videos before coming to class as homework or during class itself, the choice is there for both the teacher and the student. In addition, the student can always go back and view the videos while working on homework or studying for the tests. Having instructional videos also supports students when they can’t be in the classroom, for example, home sick or out of town with family. With the increase in mobile devices students and teachers have way more freedom on when and where learning takes place.  

3. More One on One Teacher Student Interaction

Teachers often assume that by creating instructional videos they will lose their interaction with students and their relationships with students will diminish. In my experience the opposite is true. First, students are still hearing your voice in the videos and it is more personal as you are talking directly to them. Second, as students plug into your instructional video, you have just digitally cloned yourself, which means you are now free to work with students individually or in small groups. Now, instead of talking to the whole class you are able to have individual conversations with students that are more personal and powerful.  

4. Frees Up Classroom Time

Whether you have the students view the video before they come to class or during class, instructional videos actually create more class time for guided practice and other learning activities. A lecture that may normally take 15-30 minutes of class time can be easily condensed into 3-10 minute instructional video. This happens because during whole class lectures teachers generally get students actively involved through question and discussion strategies. Taking those out and focusing on the skills and content being taught reduces the length of guided instruction dramatically when put into video format.

5. Opens Up New Opportunities

Not only does instructional videos create more class time but they open up new learning opportunities. Class time can be restructured completely. For example, the lesson can broken into stations and more choice can be embedded into the classroom. Simply put, teachers have more freedom to create new learning activities because they are no longer tied to the front of the room during whole class instruction.  

6. Provides Support to Parents

One of my favorite parts of creating instructional videos is the support that it provides parents.  Parents now are given the help they need to support their children at home by now having access to the same learning their students are given. I was always amazed how many parents actually watched the videos with their students or on their own. Some want to better help their children study while others simply want to learn.  

7. Provides Support to Special Education Teachers

In the same way it provides extra support to parents it can do the same for other teachers and support staff within the school. Special education teachers appreciate the instructional videos because they now have access to the same information, and therefore, can better support the students in their learning.  Now paras, special education teachers, and even study hall teachers can better serve and support their students.

Written by Jeffrey Bernadt



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