Video Killed the Reading Star: The Impact of Videos in the Classroom

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 When I was a high school student in the early to mid-1990's, I can remember those rare moments when it was time to watch a video in class. It was like Halley's Comet - all of us students knew this day would one day happen, and now that it has arrived, it's time to celebrate and alert all of our friends to the big news. While this may be a bit of a hyperbole, it is not too far from the truth. A teacher showing a video in class required a great deal of effort - borrowing the TV/VCR cart from the library, wheeling that rickety cart to the classroom, and then overcoming the technological deficiencies of the VHS cassette. These obstacles usually meant that teachers would show an entire two-hour video when only ten minutes were really needed to supplement the lesson.

    In the modern classroom, technological access has improved to such a degree that teachers are able to effortlessly present short-form digital videos with the click of a button. This allows the video to act as a seasoning to emphasize the lesson instead of acting as the over-stuffed entree as it used to be in my childhood. I utilize this a great deal in my Social Studies classroom because I find the students' largely short attention spans require lessons techniques to be differentiated and changing every 15 minutes or so. By using these digital video clips, I can quickly show a short video without sacrificing class time to set up and navigate to the necessary clip. The short-form video acts a particularly useful tool because it is already exists as a preferred method of information delivery as millennial currently make up 92% of the digital video viewing audience ("Why videos have lasting impact on todays learners?", 2020). Instead of fighting the popular trends of Tik Tok and YouTube, teachers can create a positive impact by implementing these into their classroom lessons.


References:

C3, E. C. @. (2020, July 13). Why videos have lasting impact on todays learners? Blog C3 iT Xperts. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.c3itxperts.com/blog/why-videos-have-lasting-impact-on-todays-learners/. 

Hicks, T. & Turner, K. H. (2017). Argument in the Real World: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.

Comments

  1. Darryl ArgumentsNovember 3, 2021 at 10:28 AM

    Hi Richard! I really enjoyed reading your post. You brought back some memories with the rolling out of the TV/VCR from the library. Those were the days! Videos definitely adds an appealing element to an argument. You mentioned "In the modern classroom, technological access has improved to such a degree that teachers are able to effortlessly present short-form digital videos with the click of a button." Things have surely changed.

    After watching your video It was good hearing you mention your empathy towards learners who need extra time or attention. I think that's the qualification or true credential that should be required for a teacher. You gotta have some empathy. It’s pretty clear of what kind of power visual media has on an audience.

    “In just this brief glimpse, the power of visual media is clear: moving or still pictures, narration and music, and the gaze of the camera all combine to make an immediate, and important, effect on viewers. Moreover, as Troy documented in Crafting Digital Writing (2013), there are a number of craft elements that go into the creation of digital video, and probably many more that could be added” (Turner & Hicks, 2017, p.85). 

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  2. India LaPalmeNovember 3, 2021 at 8:15 PM

    Hello, Richard! I think you make a great point that teachers can use videos to "supplement a lesson" rather than using the video itself as the lesson. As you mentioned, children's attention spans seem to be getting shorter and shorter these days! Luckily, if integrated properly into the lesson videos allow teachers to retain students' attention as well as to illustrate and/or reiterate a concept "in a succinct manner" (Turner & Hicks, 2017, p. 89). Of course, most of us have had at least one teacher (especially in high school) who showed videos in order to avoid teaching. Tempting as this might be, I don't recommend it! Once students realize that the only thing required of them is to sit quietly in their desk, they quickly stop paying attention to the video and very little learning takes place. The video should be a meaningful part of the lesson and not a substitute for instruction.

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