2006-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

The Potential of Digital Video
Students today live in a multimedia world and appreciate variety in their learning environment. Videos can create a very stimulating environment for the learner. It has the ability to provide a unique learning experience, one which will engage the student in ways beyond traditional textbook and lecture. The use of video as part of a lesson plan help students understand concepts and retain information, but it also has the effect of increasing the students’ enthusiasm about the information presented to them and causes them to become more motivated to learn. Scientific research has demonstrated that the use of video in the classroom improves learning, retention and test scores. According to Lightbody (p.1, 2004) ‘students find video motivational and enjoy greater control over their own learning (it is easy to start, stop or replay video segments)’.

Benefits for pupils

Through working with digital video pupils can:

express their ideas
engage in depth with a narrative or other piece of content
develop their understanding of a sequence of events
monitor and measure physical phenomena
reflect on their learning

Benefits for teachers
Digital video provides teachers with stimulating material that can be used by individuals, groups or the whole class by using display technologies such as a digital projector or an interactive whiteboard.
Through working with digital video teachers can:

illustrate concepts and physical phenomena through a visual medium, allowing questioning, explaining and modelling with the whole class or groups
encourage talk as a tool for thinking and learning, allowing pupils to engage in exploratory
talk or reasoning as they are engaged in collaborative activities
encourage pupils to reflect, allowing time in the plenary session to review pupils’ work so they can contemplate what they have learned.

Educational Technology