Video in Education - How, When, Why, and from Where?

The next two weeks we'll be looking at videos for use in your classrooms. Video is a great way to illustrate, supplement, and enrich and there are thousands of great videos out there.

We will be exploring the purposes of educational video, the evaluation of video prior to use, selection of videos from multiple sources, and eventually, making our own video.

Let's begin by reading the article from this week's content resources called Using Online Educational Videos: http://www.edutopia.org/youtube-educational-videos-classroom


Borrowing from Dr. Stansberry's blog (simplycurious.net):
Purposes of Educational Videos:
• Instructional – The purpose of an instructional piece is to teach something. This goes beyond simply presenting facts. Examples include: tutorials, teaching tools, and interactive games with assessment.
• Informational – The purpose of an informational piece is to inform the audience but not persuade opinions. Informational pieces could briefly cover multiple topics or focus on one or two. Examples include: News Programs, Biographies, Community Calendars, and Personal Websites.
• Documentary – The purpose of a documentary is to document an actual event or topic beyond the scope of a typical news story. It should reflect serious research and present facts objectively without fictional matter.
• Persuasive – The purpose of a persuasive piece is to present an idea, product, concept, organization or individual in a credible way, so as to change public opinion and/or encourage audience approval, support or participation. Examples include: Advertising, Public Service Announcements, and Movie Trailers.
• Story – The purpose of a story piece is to tell a story, whether serious or lighthearted, fictional or non-fictional. Examples include: Comedies, Dramas, and Student/Family Experiences.
• Entertainment – The purpose of a piece in this category is to entertain and/or amuse the audience in a format other than telling a story. Examples include: Music Videos, Variety Shows, Interactive Games, and Game Shows.

Great free places to find video:

• WatchKnowLearn (http://www.watchknowlearn.org/) is a wiki-type site with a very easy-to-use search tool
• SnagLearning (http://learning.snagfilms.com/) collects high-quality video from National Geographic, PBS, and others
• TeacherTube (http://teachertube.com/)
  
• SchoolTube (http://www.schooltube.com/)
  
• Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org/video)
• PBS.org (http://www.pbs.org/)
• TED talks (http://www.ted.com/)
• NeoK12 (http://www.neok12.com/)
•  

Great sites your district may provide:

• BrainPop (http://www.brainpop.com/)
• Discovery Learning subscription channel (used to be called United Streaming) (http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/)

Take a look at these sites. Keep the following guiding questions in mind as you browse the video offerings:

1. What should I consider when choosing a video?

2. On what criteria should video be judged?

3. When would I be likely to use a specific video?

4. How can I save videos I want to use? How will I find them later?

5. In what instances might I want to make videos of my own?