Creative, Active, Responsible Students in the Digital World 1 | Page 7

CO-FUNDED BY THE ERASMUS + PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
EDU-VIDEOS/TOOLS IN CLASS
By Eleni Androulaki
3 rd Primary School of Agios Nikolaos Crete, Greece
There are many benefits to using video in education as shown in several decades of
research. Shepard and Cooper (1982) and Mayer and Gallini (1990) made the connection
between visual clues, the memory process, and the recall of new knowledge. Allam (2006)
observes that the creative challenge of using moving images and sound to communicate a
topic indeed engaging and insightful, but adds that it also enables students to acquire a range
of transferable skills in addition to filmmaking itself. These include research skills,
collaborative working, problem solving, technology, and organisational skills. (Bijnens,
N.D.)
In some cases, video can be as good as an instructor in communicating facts or
demonstrating procedures to assist in mastery learning where a student can view complex
clinical or mechanical procedures as many times as they need to. Furthermore, the interactive
features of modern web-based media players can be used to promote ‘active viewing’
approaches with students (Galbraith, 2004).
More recently, Willmot et al (2012) show that there is strong evidence that digital
video reporting can inspire and engage students when incorporated into student-centred
learning activities through:
• increased student motivation
• enhanced learning experience
• higher marks
• development potential for deeper learning of the subject
• development of learner autonomy
• enhanced team working and communication skills
• a source of evidence relating to skills for interviews
In conclusion video is a medium that engages viewers from multiple senses – sight
and sound – and can generate excitement about a subject or concept. Students will enjoy the
experience and retain more information from the class. Here are just a few ideas of what you
can do with video:
• Course welcome
• Icebreakers
• Launching point for group discussion
• Mini-lectures
• Simulations / demonstrations
• Student projects / student-created media
• Feedback for students
• How-to videos (great for teaching software or a procedure)
As with any instructional technology, you want to use video to enhance teaching and
learning. To effectively integrate video into your course, you must first determine a specific
learning objective and create an activity that uses the video in support of that objective. Begin
by asking yourself these questions:
• What is it that you want your students to learn?
• Is the video to introduce new concepts, review old ones, or extend something that happened
in class?
• Is it to provoke thoughts and promote critical thinking, or is it to provide simple, factual
information?
Then follow the next steps:
• Choose your video resources wisely. Spend time prior to the lecture watching a range of
CREATIVE, ACTIVE, RESPONSIBLE STUDENTS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
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