Also important to consider when planning a video are the two channels of working memory: visual and auditory (Brame, 2015). When watching a video, students first process information with their sensory memory to determine what is relevant and important enough for working memory. They then have two channels to interpret information: auditory cues (sounds, voice-over, music) and visual cues (images, video, text on the screen). Too much text on the screen, voice-over without matching visuals, and music that overpowers the video can all overload the two channels, placing extraneous load on the learning task.
In their analysis of MOOC sessions, Guo, Kim, and Rubin (2014) found that the ideal video is less than six minutes long, includes periodic “talking head” scenes, and incorporates some of the techniques used in Khan Academy–style videos, especially the use of tablet drawings. Most important, the researchers found the quality of the video production did not have a direct impact on engagement.
Videos that rely too heavily on direct instruction and lecture can be ineffective because they lean too heavily on the audio channel of the brain and ignore the potential benefits of incorporating visual elements in the learning task (Thomson, Bridgstock & Willems, 2014). The most effective videos capitalize on both text and audio channels to demonstrate processes, tutorials, and other content by using visuals and music/narration (Thomson, Bridgstock & Willems, 2014).
John Hattie (2010) reviewed close to 1,200 meta-analyses to evaluate the effect size of over 250 instructional practices and the resulting learning outcomes. The higher the effect size, the greater the learning outcome: a practice that has an effect size of 0.4 will have an impact of one year’s worth of growth over a school year and is what would be expected in a typical classroom. He found that interactive video has an effect size of 0.54 and micro-teaching/video review of lessons has an effect size of 0.88—both considerably higher than the standard yearly classroom effect size of 0.4, indicating that students learning from this method would show more than a year’s worth of growth over the course of a year.
Ultimately, using videos successfully in the classroom comes down to balance:
1. including a balance of auditory and visual cues without overloading one side or the other;
2. maintaining a balance between new information and connections to old information; and
3. finding a balance between engaging and exciting content and content that overloads the learners.
Knowing how the brain is going to process your videos will help guide your video creations.
THE ISTE STANDARDS
The ISTE Standards for Educators and The ISTE Standards for Students are the guiding principles behind many of the ideas included in this book. The table below shows which recipes in the book support each ISTE Standard.
ISTE Standards for Educators
| Standards | Video Strategy |
| 2. Leader | Daily Announcements (ch. 2)Class Trailers (ch. 2)Beginning-of-the-Year Welcome Pack (ch. 2)School Tours (ch. 2)Video Introductions for New Students (ch. 2)Pep Talks (ch. 3)Classroom Recaps (ch. 3)Parent Updates (ch. 3)Anticipation Videos (ch. 4)Clarification (ch. 4)Video Edits (ch. 4)Screencasting Writing (ch. 4)In-Flipping (ch. 5)Test Review (ch. 5)Guided Reading (ch. 5)Test Accommodations (ch. 5)Physical Education Exercise Instructions (ch. 5)Meeting Updates (ch. 6)Substitute Plans (ch. 6)Technology Walkthroughs (ch. 6)Stop-Motion Videos (ch. 7)Characters (ch. 7)Travel Videos (ch. 7)Reading Recordings (ch. 8) |
| 3. Citizen | Tweet Ups (ch. 3)Modified Socratic Circles (ch. 4)Public Service Announcements (ch. 8) |
| 4. Collaborator | Daily Announcements (ch. 2)Beginning-of-the-Year Welcome Pack (ch. 2)School Tours (ch. 2)Video Introductions for New Students (ch. 2)Pep Talks (ch. 3)Classroom Recaps (ch. 3)Parent Updates (ch. 3)Tweet Ups (ch. 3)Modified Socratic Circles (ch. 4)Meeting Updates (ch. 6)Substitute Plans (ch. 6)Technology Walkthroughs (ch. 6)Travel Videos (ch. 7)News Broadcasts (ch. 8)Student Recordings for Editing (ch. 8) |
| 5. Designer | Beginning-of-the-Year Welcome Pack (ch. 2)School Tours (ch. 2)Station Instructions (ch. 4)Modified Socratic Circles (ch. 4)Scavenger Hunts (ch. 4)Gamification (ch. 4)Screencasting Writing (ch. 4) |
| 6. Facilitator | Gamification (ch. 4)Goal Setting (ch. 8) |
| 7. Analyst | Scavenger Hunts (ch. 4)Spelling Review (ch. 4)Gamification (ch. 4)Screencasting Writing (ch. 4) |
ISTE Standards for Students
| Standards | Video Strategy |
| 1. Empowered Learner | Goal Setting (ch. 8)News Broadcasts (ch. 8)Student Recordings for Editing (ch. 8) |
| 6. Creative Communicator | Rules for Next Year (ch. 8) |
| 7. Global Collaborator | News Broadcasts (ch. 8)Student Recordings for Editing (ch. 8)Public Service Announcements (ch. 8) |
The Appetizer
(Part I)
The appetizer sets the tone for every amazing, memorable meal. It is the first thing you taste, and it whets your appetite for what’s next. In schools, video lessons offered in the weeks leading up to the school year and during those first few days of school can be like appetizers, setting the tone for the rest of the year.
The videos in this section will help you get your year started on the right foot. If you’re just starting out making videos, the first recipe below, Daily Announcements, is a great way to kick-start your video creation journey—and to set the tone for the school day.
Daily ANNOUNCEMENTS
POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS: Teacher to Student
The beginning of class is always hectic. I like to check in with students early on, but first I need to take attendance, and Kiera has a question about the writing assignment from last Thursday, and Oliver is crying because Brooklyn said something mean to him in the hall, and then I’m supposed to ask every student to attend the mixer after school today (at least, I think that’s what the e-mail said—or was the mixer tomorrow?), and on top of that, I want to build a relationship with the quiet student who hasn’t spoken the last few days. It’s a lot to accomplish.
I used to start every class period by reading off class announcements—things like birthdays, assignment reminders, reading goals, and quotes of the day. As a middle school teacher, I was doing this for five classes a day. Every day. All that repetition was exhausting and felt like a waste of time, but I also knew that consistency was important for many of my students. I love to mix up seating arrangements and experiment with the structure of class activities, so announcements give us an anchor to start from, a calm, predictable moment before we launch into something amazing. (Offering routines like this is especially helpful for students who have executive functioning challenges.)
To make these announcements less exhausting, I decided to start recording them. I wanted a one-stop shop for all the most important events coming up, something I could show students at the start of class while I completed the usual beginning-of-the-hour tasks. The purpose of the video was to walk through this information once and then be able to reuse it for the rest of the day. And it worked great.
The first few times I did it, it took me about fifteen to twenty minutes to record the video because I kept restarting if I made a mistake. I wanted the video to be absolutely perfect. I noticed every “um” or “uh” or awkward pause. It was so time-consuming that I nearly gave up. But once I stopped worrying about perfection, I was