Integrating Online Video Into Your Teaching

Incorporating Online Video Into Your Teaching

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video clip worth? Already, if you're like most teachers, you have a few selected VHS or DVDs that you cue up to illustrate various points or concepts, incite student interest, start conversations, etc. Of course, you don't watch the whole 90 minute movie, you just show just that choice section. Many teachers are starting to create their own DVDs with just the video segments that they want to use in class, to avoid fumbling with a remote control in front of the students. But often, it is hard to find just the right clip from your personal video library or the school media center...and buying new tapes and DVDs...who has the budget for that?

Well, there is another option now, online streaming video clips. You have probably heard of YouTube, for example. A great source of videos of Chinese kids singing along to Backstreet Bouys songs and America's Worst Home Videos. But there is some educational content there if you search hard enough. And Ive found some sites below that provide educational clips, free of charge, over the Internet. If your classroom has a good broadband connection, you might well want to consider using clips from some of these sources in your teaching.

Video Sources

Google Video
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=genre:educational&so=1
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/categories

These are the famous, hugely popular sites for finding online video clips. The vast majority, of course, of these clips aren't educational in nature. (Though Google at least has an Education category.) But, depending on u your subject, it's worth a look. One nice thing about Google Video is that you can download most clips instead of having to rely on a live internet connection--which is great for teachers. You'll know the clip is safely on your hard drive when you're presenting it to a classroom of kids. Of course, when searching these sites, be aware that there is a lot of "inappropriate" content. And your school may block the site as well, because of that and/or bandwidth issues.

AOL Video: Learning and Adventure
http://video.aol.com/video-category/learning-and-adventure/255?sem=1&ncid=AOLVID00170000000005
Quite a few videos here for use with K-12 students.

UnitedStreaming Video
http://www.unitedstreaming.com/
Claims to be "in more than half of US Schools". Could this be true? 40,000 video clips correlated to state standards. Try it free for 30 days.

ide@s
http://virage-prod.uwex.edu/vss-bin/vss_SR.exe/ideas/ideas_search
This site, from Wisconsin, has a database of 297 videoclips, each linked to state K-12 standards. Even if you're not from Wisconsin, you may find something useful here. I had some difficulty on my Mac, though, getting them to play.

Multimedia Seeds: Video Clips
http://eduscapes.com/seeds/clips.html
This page has a good list of sites that offer video clips in a range of content areas

Annenberg Media
http://www.learner.org/resources/browse.html
A wide variety of streaming videos for both K-12 and college instructors who are seeking to enhance their professional development. Many are targeted at K-12 teacher professional development such as "Essential Science for Teachers: Physical Sciences", "inside Writing Communities: Grades 3-5" and "In Search of the Novel." The latter covers how to teach 10 novels to high school students. Well worth checking out!

Resourses about Using Video in Your Teaching

(I wish I could find more of these...any suggestions?)

Seeing is Believing: Harnessing Online Video Clips to Enhance Learning
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/profdev040.shtml
" Most teachers have come to understand that Net-Geners relate best to curriculum when teachers incorporate the medium that captivates them the most -- video -- to help translate abstract concepts or events into their reality."

Video Clips / Vodcasts for Online Literature Courses: The Allure of the Moving Image
http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com/2006/10/video-clips-vodcasts-for-online.html
For those of you considering creating your own video clips, whether for an online course or face-to-face, here are some good guidelines to follow. The "E-Learning Queen" focuses on content here, not technical issues, which makes this particularly useful, I think. Has examples of clips.

Would love to add on to these lists. Feel free to share suggestions via comments.

Chris