Video Instruction can be a CRAZY AWESOME tool for your teaching arsenal. Especially right now, kids are very interested in quick videos. They already rely on YouTube to learn how to do things (like build Minecraft stuff). We can ride that tidal wave and improve our teaching in the process! Creating your own video instruction can be a personal project so that your videos match what you normally say. These three ways to use video instruction with students can help guide you in your video planning!

1. Flipped Instruction

I am a big advocate of flipped instruction (you may have guessed – haha) and the self-starting students that it cultivates. You can learn more about flipped instruction here but the basic idea is this:

• Students view a lesson outside of class time to learn something new
• When they come to class, you go over the concept together and they try it
• In the beginning stages of students working on something new, they are with their teacher to guide them instead of at home getting frustrated

Here’s one of my go-to videos each year that I use with my students. I have them watch this on their own before we put clarinets together during class time. This video gives every student a front row “private lesson” view of what I am talking about. Once they have watched it on their own, we try it together in class. I even play and pause the video between steps when we do it the first time in class.

You can use video instruction like this to teach literally ANYTHING. I happen to prefer using it for big “front row seat” kinds of lessons OR lessons which I want to make sure that I teach really perfectly. I feel strongly that flipped lessons should be majorly important so that they can retain their value with students. Think: big rhythmic or theory concepts, demonstration of a skill (marching band!), showing a technique or process visually. Your options are endless!

2. Review

A video is a great way for your students to “take” your instruction home with them. Probably just as frequently as I post a “flipped” style video, I post one that is a review. I think that these are the videos that my students are most grateful for, because when they forget how to do something or how I worded something, they can easily and quickly find help.

These types of videos make your online classroom more valuable to students because they know they can get help when they go there!

This is a video that I post on the Feed of our Google Classroom. This goes home with students for the weekend after we have learned how to put reeds on. While it could also be used as a “flipped” style video lesson, it provides a good walkthrough review for students who are doing it on their own at home. This is the kind of video that kids frequently ask me to post so that I can still “help” them at home.

3. Co-Teaching during Class

One final way (but this list is not finite!) to use video instruction is to use it as your own personal Co-Teacher! When I am teaching a lesson like the one in the video below, it can get a little repetitive from class to class. Planning to use this video as the “teacher” and myself as the walk-around-checker and reinforcer of concepts works really well.

While the video plays, I’m in between the rows checking for understanding. I can always pause and rewind as needed to practice with the students. I can add in comments as needed. Bonus: I always know what my co-teacher is thinking (because I’ve watched the video!)

Great News!

While it can be really helpful to create your own video content for students, you don’t have to! Go check out YouTube and I bet you’ll find something that just might work for you!

If you decide to create your own content, know that there are many ways to use your video instruction with students!

How do YOU use video content with your students?