Make Educational Videos Engaging with EdPuzzle
Make Educational Videos Engaging with EdPuzzle
Videos have become a staple of the classroom in the Digital Age. Whether it be a course-related film, a tutorial, or an instructional video, having your students watch a good and informative video is a quick and easy way to convey content - especially for visual learners. And assigning videos for students to watch on their own time is almost ubiquitous in modern education. According to a 2020 survey, 90% of teachers believe videos play a critical role in their classroom and 92% of teachers have their students use (including videos) for independent work. However, simply showing or assigning a video does not guarantee a student will be engaged, especially when they are watching it independently. A useful tool for teachers to ensure engagement and active learning for their students while watching videos is EdPuzzle.
What is EdPuzzle?
EdPuzzle is a free-to-use online platform designed to enhance the experience of educational videos. By making videos engaging, EdPuzzle makes watching course content more enjoyable for students.
It’s all about the idea of Active Learning. By making the activity of watching videos less passive, they become less boring. Students now have something to actively do while watching! They have an explicit purpose to be attentive, and will now better absorb the content rather than having it go in one ear and out the other.
How to Use EdPuzzle
It is highly intuitive and very user friendly for both teachers and students alike!
The first step for an educator using EdPuzzle is to create an account. You can either make a brand new one, or use a pre-existing Google account. Next, select a video you would like your students to watch. You can either Upload your own video, or find one on the web. Any video on YouTube is compatible.
After selecting a video, EdPuzzle allows you to edit it so that only pertinent content will be displayed to your students. Once a video has been selected and edited, you can now customize its interactivity to your liking. This means you can add questions or notes to appear at any particular point in the video. Here are a few examples of how it works in different subject areas:
If you are showing an instructional math video - you may add a question after a formula has been explained asking students to solve an equation with that formula. If the students are correct, they will be allowed to continue the video. If they are incorrect, they will have to try again.
If you are showing a history documentary, you may add additional detail in the form of a note if the film does not go sufficiently in-depth on a concept.
A note can come in the form of words or images - meaning you can add a graph or photograph to enhance understanding of a given topic.
If you are showing a film adaptation of a piece of literature, you may ask an open-ended question about a character’s motivation following any given scene.
The opportunities are endless!
Alternative Usages
While EdPuzzle is likely primarily used for assignments outside of the classroom, it can be used in the classroom as well. It can easily be used for independent classwork, but it can be used for group work as well. Either as a class or in small groups, students can work together to answer questions about the video they’re watching. It would be particularly useful to include open-ended questions to stimulate discussion when using EdPuzzle cooperatively.
If you think creatively, there are endless ways to use EdPuzzle. One outside-of-the-box idea is EdPuzzle being a tool for students' projects. Students can choose an educational video, and use EdPuzzle to add notes. Then, they can present the edited EdPuzzle video, while interjecting additional information in a quasi-presentation that feels more relaxed and offers students breathing room.
References
DiYanni, Robert, and Anton Borst. “Active Learning.” The Craft of College Teaching: A Practical Guide, Princeton University Press, 2020, pp. 42–57, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvp2n3jt.11.
Edwards, Luke. “What Is Edpuzzle and How Does It Work?” TechLearningMagazine, Tech & Learning, 17 Mar. 2021, https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/what-is-edpuzzle-and-how-does-it-work.
Comments
Post a Comment