Teaching: Using Videos in lessons

Videos can be extremely effective educational tools when used properly. They're a great way of breaking the usual monotony of ordinary lessons (although lessons should never be monotonous) and offers students a new and more exciting way of learning. Let's take History an an example: is there a better way for students to learn than showing them actual footage of real places? It's like a field trip without the included hassle. However you cannot simply rely on a video to do the lesson for you. You need to make sure that the lessons is geared towards the right direction and that the students understand the main points of that particular lesson.


The following list will hopefully help you understand how to incorporate the use of videos in your lessons:

1. Make a brainstorming session on the main subject and, on the white-board/chalk-board, write all the important points.
2. Instruct students to write down the points in more detail while watching the video. For example, if the video is about the effect of heat on objects, and one of the points is 'effects of heat on metal', then students should be able to write down more information while watching the video, such as: "heat forces the molecules of the metal to vibrate, this vibration allows the metal to expand..."
3. Allow yourself to pause the video when it reaches a specific point, and take the time to reinforce what the students have just heard. This will help students to easily understand which points are important.
4. After watching the video, the students should be more knowledgeable about the main subject. Go back to the points on the white-board/chalk-board and help students use the notes they took during the video, to give detailed explanations.
5. Tell students to write down a report on the subject. This is a great reinforcement exercise.

I hope that this article will help you deliver more interesting and entertaining lessons. As always, don't hesitate to leave comments.