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. 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 are 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 used 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 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 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) and even from newer platforms like TikTok. 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 bearing 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)
  • 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 asks 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 on YouTube, or using YouTube videos in Google Classroom. Whiteboard videos can be created with Educreations, Explain Everything, ShowMe or VideoScribe. 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. Kaizena is a Google add-on that can facilitate this in the Chrome browser, but other audio or video software could be used by teachers and students for this purpose.

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 synchronous videoconferencing platforms such as Class Collaborate (formerly Blackboard Collaborate), Microsoft Teams and Zoom, all of which offer a range of interaction and sharing functionality beyond video chat itself, including allowing interactions to be recorded, archived and shared. Many everyday chat & messaging apps also allow some synchronous videoconferencing, which may be important in underresourced contexts. Another variation on this concept is video-to-video conversations – that is, where students respond to the teacher or each other in short-form videos – which can be facilitated on a platform such as Flip (formerly Flipgrid).

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

Students creating videos

Truly 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, 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 common 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 or Blabberize, where animated characters or photos ‘speak’ audio files on their behalf. For educational tips, see The Voki Blog – Expanding Education. A popular app with similar functionality is Tellagami (currently for Apple iOS only). Animated videos can be created with 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 also possible for teachers and students to use increasingly affordable omnidirectional cameras and software such as Adobe Premiere Pro 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.

Thanks to the wave of generative AI tools released from late 2022 onwards, there are now also AI-enhanced video creation and video editing services, including AppyPie AI Video Generator, CapCut, Descript, Fliki, FireCut (Adobe), Haiper, HeyGen, LTX Studio, Magic Hour, Minvo, Pictory, Pika, ShortVideoGen, Steve AI, Story, Vids (Google), and Vidu. For creating explanatory videos, try Gatekeep. Increasingly, video creation and similar services will allow the creation of realistic avatars of people which can speak using voice cloning technology (with care needed due to the issue of deepfakes). The latest highly sophisticated AI video generation software to emerge includes Luma’s Dream Machine, Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha, Kuaishou’s Kling, Black Forest Labs’ Flux, Haiper, inVideo, Genmo’s Mochi, Recraft, Video Ocean, Meta’s Movie Gen (not yet released) and OpenAI’s Sora (not yet released).

Last update: November 2024.