Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos? What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students? What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?
Alternative learning systems include many types of technological tools. Teachers and students have a whole world of technology at their fingertips. Teachers can use the internet as a resource for teaching and for displaying educational videos in their classrooms. Teachers also can have class with students from all over the U.S. by using live cams, which enable students to feel like they are a part of a class even though they are sitting at home. This enhances traditional education because students and teachers can come together over long distances to communicate and learn, and students become involved in learning by using more than one sense.
Teachers should always preview and evaluate videos before they introduce them to their students by using an evaluation rubric. Teachers need to make sure the video is relevant to the curriculum because students need to be able to relate what they are watching to what they are learning in the current chapter or unit. The video needs to be current and accurate. I showed a video in class the other day that another teacher loaned me, and I previewed it and made a worksheet to go with it. I should have never used that video, it was very outdated and some of the information was not accurate anymore. I had to stop the video to correct the information; it was very distracting to the students. Next time I will do some searching and find a more current video.
The video should be engaging. Although the video was outdated the students were still engaged, but maybe not in the way I was looking for. They laughed at the crazy hairstyles and clothing the people in the video were wearing and made jokes. The educational side of the video was not as engaging as the humorous parts. Also teachers should try to find good support materials to go along with the video, something the students can touch and be physically involved with. By bringing the tactile experience into the mix, most of the learning styles will be covered in the lesson. The technical quality needs to be good, some students are very visual and if the quality of the video is poor, they may become turned off to learning.
I learned from my experience with showing the outdated video in my class. Next time I will use the video rubric to evaluate my video before I show it. One last note, teachers are required to include a worksheet when showing a video in class at my school. By doing this, I know that my students are paying attention instead of sleeping or talking to other students. I think the worksheet is a great idea and tool and all schools should require it.
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I can remember watching two videos in class last summer and having worksheets to fill out while I was watching. It never dawned on me that there was a reason other than making sure you got the intended information out of the video. Who knew? I think videos can be a wonderful teaching tool, depending on the subject. I mean just think about all the available assets if you are teaching about Tudor England. Not so much when you are teaching Pre-Algebra. But I see your point that what we want them to take away from the video is not always what the focus on, and maybe you have to preview the video from their perspective. Still, I can remember how much I enjoyed them when I was in school - and I do think I learned something from watching them.
ReplyDeleteGreat job.
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