The Effect of Video Lessons on 2nd and 3rd Grade Writing
Overall, pre-test and post-test survey comparisons revealed that students enjoyed writing more, thought writing was more exciting and reported less confusion during writing lessons. Writing skills also improved, showing an increase in the use of key phrases and more organization in their writing than pre-test assessments.
Not only did this study serve as evidence that technology can help to improve learning, but it also helped to spark a transformational change within my own classroom. Creating video lessons and implementing them opened up a world of new practices and differentiation strategies that I had not practiced before. I was able to meet with students one on one, differentiate for all learners and allow students to be in control of their learning by providing choices about how they could engage with the lessons and their writing. Outside of the data I collected, I observed my students become more self-aware, responsible, and organized.
Moving forward, my experience can be a testament to the importance of technology integration. The use of video lessons was a positive experience for my students and proved to be beneficial for their writing education. Educators should highly consider the use of instructional video use in their teaching practices. There are many video creation tools than can be used to make content and skill specific lessons for students of all ages, abilities, and disciplines. A few recommendations would be Educreations, Clips on iPad, Powtoon, and Screencastify. I hope that my experience serves as a guide for other professionals who are looking to find meaningful and powerful use of technology in their practices.
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