Using Video Resources

One of the hardest things about using video in the classroom is being able to find resources to help prepare for the lesson. Therefore I present you with some of the resources I have used that you may find useful.

A note on recording: My students have done a mixture of recording on their laptops and their cellphones. Each time the record something, they save it to Google Drive to make sure that they do not lose it.

When I did recordings in college with students in school districts that did not have the money to loan out video recording devices, I would record them on my cell phone and allow them to put it together on the school computers. This is more classroom time but it is a good work around for budget issues.

If you want to see a list of other resources I have, go here to see the list.

  • How I have used video:
    • Research projects
    • Trailers for literature pieces
    • Abridgment of plays
  • Storyboard
    • A great way to have your students get their thoughts down before they begin filming or writing a script. It can either be done digitally or by hand.
  • Script
    • A MUST. Unless the students are amazing at improv, they need to actually have their lines written down ahead of time. This particular template is very formal. It can easily be modified to fit your needs
    • This is also a great way to include a writing component if you have an old-school-everything-technology-is-bad teacher you need to deal with.
  • Rubric
    • This was by far one of the hardest things for me to find. So, here you go. It might save you some time and trouble.
    • This is again fairly generic. You can easily modify it.
  • Editing
    • I do not have a hard copy resource for you but I can tell you this is important. If students do not know how to edit their videos, it will fall apart. However, editing should be the last thing students do. Have them storyboard then write their script then record. Once they have completed these three steps, show them how to edit using the software of your choice.
    • The best way for students to learn how to edit is to have no fear of deleting their own work. I shared with my students, via Google Drive, narration, pictures, music, and video clips and told them to practice for the period. By the end of the period, they had to submit a completed video. This worked great because my students were not afraid of "messing up" their own work. It also installed the confidence in them to edit their own videos. 
    • Also, make sure you know how to use the software. If you do not know how to use the software, it will make your life miserable because you will not be able to trouble shoot. It is okay if you are not an expert on the software but it is very important to make sure someone on hand in the building is. For my school, one of the technology teachers is an expert so if teachers get stuck and I am busy, they can ask the resource teacher.
      • Note: Make sure you technology research teacher knows what you are going to be using before you start teaching it. That makes their lives easier.

Hopefully this helps! Good luck using videos! And with that, I leave you with one of the most famous video essays: Elle Wood's video essay to Harvard


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