Videos

Videos are often used in a web 1.0 manner for information transmission, but they can be used in a much more web 2.0 manner if students are tasked with creating and sharing their own work. Web 3.0 elements are also becoming more salient with the creation of XR videos and AI-generated videos. Meanwhile, videoconferencing has become an important part of remote learning.

The term vodcast is sometimes used to refer to syndicated video files – much as podcasts were traditionally syndicated audio files – but the term video is heard much more often nowadays, whether referring to standalone videos, or to videos which form part of a series. While podcasting was originally seen as associated with mobile learning, research has revealed that many students prefer to listen to educational podcasts while stationary, sometimes making use of desktop or laptop computers. Conversely, videos were originally associated with viewing on desktop or laptop computers, but current usage trends have shifted to include the viewing of videos, especially short-form videos, on smartphones and other mobile devices, for example while users are taking public transport. Common videosharing platforms usually exist in app format for mobile devices. Moreover, many students use mobile devices and apps in the creation of their own videos, and they may also choose to participate in videoconferencing lessons via smartphones or tablets.

Teaching with video

Videos may be shown by the teacher in class, or viewed asynchronously by students outside class (including within a flipped approach). Typically, students are in a relatively passive role while watching videos, though learning tasks can easily be built around videos in class, and there is a strong trend towards making asynchronously viewed videos more interactive through the addition of embedded quiz and discussion tasks. Of course, today’s 360-degree videos can create a more immersive experience, akin to virtual reality (VR), especially if experienced on VR or extended reality (XR) headsets.

If teachers do not wish to create their own videos for students, they may instead show or recommend educational videos from general platforms like YouTube and Vimeo (with services such as SafeShare allowing removal of surrounding advertising, recommendations and other material when videos are screened in class) and even from newer platforms like TikTok (bearing in mind age restrictions for school-age students; for more details, see the Digital Safety & Wellness page). Alternatively, they may seek videos on educationally oriented platforms like the Khan Academy, SchoolTube, TeacherTube and TED. For a guide to using YouTube and YouTube Kids in schools, see Common Sense Education’s Teachers’ Essential Guide to YouTube.

If teachers are creating their own educational videos for students, it is worth keeping in mind Richard Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning. Recent overviews can be found at:

• • Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning (video) (Devlin Peck/YouTube, 2021)
  • How to Use Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning (Andrew DeBell/LinkedIn, 2022)
  • Mayer’s 12 Multimedia Principles Decoded (Inna Horvath/Elai, 2024)
  • 12 Principles of Multimedia (New York University, n. d.)

For more a more general guide on creating educational videos, see:

• • Authentic and Effective: Rescuing Video from Its Role as the Villain of Online Learning (Erin Crisp/EDUCAUSE Review, 2021)

For teachers wishing to use AI to create or enhance videos, see the section on AI-enhanced video tools under Students creating videos below.

Videos can be annotated and have learning tasks added through services like Edpuzzle and WeVideo (formerly PlayPosit), while TED-Ed allows videos to be framed with learning tasks. It is possible to add interactive quizzes to videos in Google Classroom and using a variety of other educational tools often provided by institutions. Whiteboard videos can be created with Educreations, Explain Everything, ShowMe or VideoScribe (now with AI). Teachers might also like to consider offering video (or audio) feedback on students’ work, as outlined in the Feedback and Feedforward video by Lisa Corbett from Iona College, Perth.

Teaching through video (videoconferencing)

Synchronous videoconferencing, often including class interactions and groupwork, has become a mainstay of remote learning, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 school, college and university closures. There are a number of major videoconferencing platforms such as Class for Web (formerly Class Collaborate, and prior to that Blackboard Collaborate), Microsoft Teams and Zoom, all of which offer a range of interaction and sharing functionality beyond videoconferencing itself, including allowing interactions to be recorded, archived and shared. Many everyday chat and messaging apps also allow synchronous videoconferencing, which may be important in underresourced contexts.

There is emerging potential in livestreaming services like Explore.org, as well as virtual field trips.

Students creating videos

More authentically web 2.0 uses of video involve students creating their own work, perhaps as part of digital storytelling activities. When students make their own videos, there are typically several steps involved:

• • recording a video using a video camera, regular digital camera, tablet or smartphone
  • editing the recorded video on a computer using common software such as iMovie (on a Mac) or Microsoft Photos (on a PC); or using one of the many online video editing services, such as Microsoft’s AI-powered Clipchamp; or else using one of the many video editing apps for mobile devices (note: students may find the ACMI Film It site a useful guide to video production and editing)
  • uploading the edited video to a videosharing service such as YouTube (possibly using a private educational channel) or a service for securely hosting and sharing videos such as Sendvid; or sharing it within an insitutional LMS or other similar plaform

Variations which are useful to avoid students showing their faces and revealing their identities in videos include Voki (also available in app format) and Blabberize (now with an AI version), where animated characters or photos ‘speak’ audio files on their behalf. For educational tips, see The Voki Blog – Expanding Education. Animated videos can be created with the AI-powered Powtoon, or students can use the animation and explanation apps mentioned above, such as Educreations, Explain Everything, ShowMe or VideoScribe. Machinima movies, which can easily be produced by teachers or students in virtual worlds or gaming environments, hold some potential. To create green screen videos, try the Do Ink app. For more options, see the digital storytelling page of this website.

It is now possible for teachers and students to use increasingly affordable omnidirectional cameras and software such as Adobe Premiere or Stornaway to make 360-degree videos. While such videos can be viewed on the flat screens of mobile or other devices, a more immersive experience is possible if they are viewed on VR or XR headsets; for more detail, see the virtual reality page of this website.

There are now numerous AI-enhanced video creation and editing services, ranging from free to paid, including (in alphabetical order): AI Video Generator (Pixazo), DeeVid, Descript, Dream Machine (Luma), Firefly (Adobe), Fliki, Flow (Google), Flux (Black Forest Labs), Gen-4 (Runway), Grok Imagine (X), Haiper, HeyGen, Hunyuan (Tencent), invideo, Kling, (Kuaishou), Krea, LTX Studio, Magic Hour, Mochi (Genmo), Movie Gen (Meta; not yet released), Pictory, Pika, Pollo, Seedance (ByteDance), ShortVideoGen, Sora (OpenAI),Steve, Story, Video Ocean, Vids (Google), Vidu, and Wan (Alibaba). Increasingly, video generation and similar services will allow the creation of realistic avatars of people that can speak using voice cloning technology (with care needed due to the issue of deepfakes). Services dedicated to creating animated videos include Replit. Some video services listed above, such as HeyGen, can also automatically generate translations into different languages.

In a variation on the notion of creating videos through text prompting on generative AI platforms, some educators are beginning to employ generative AI to automatically generate instructional videos from existing content. Google’s NotebookLM can also create video overviews of topics or papers in the form of narrated slides. We are likely to see this approach more widely adopted in coming years.

Last update: February 2026.