Lesson Preparations - School Video in Your Lesson

School videos have been used for years to introduce new concepts into the classroom, entertain students and even to fill time when the teacher has other things to do. While the latter option can be quite appealing to any teacher seeking to get a little down time, that value proposition is a little more difficult to sell to administration.

But that doesn't mean the video can't introduce some great learning tools into your curriculum. And, when they do, administration is much more eager to invest in them to add to your library of resources. In order to capture your students' best learning attention and maximize the video experience, follow a few easy tips.
General Application

Application Development

To use school videos in your classroom, the first thing to remember is to start small. If you try to accomplish too much too fast, your students will be lost in the whirlwind and the lesson will be lost on them. Instead, use just one or two videos to their fullest within the semester or even the year instead of using videos all the time. As you become better at guiding your students through this visual learning experience, you can add more over time.

Also remember that you will run into problems. That is to be expected and if you keep this in mind, you'll be much better able to handle them when they arise. Technical difficulty is the most likely problem - even if you have used video in the classroom in the past. It is always a good idea to test the equipment ahead of time. And, even if the test run is successful, be sure to have a plan B in place, just in case.

Rights to Duplication and Other Issues

More than likely, you will be using two kinds of school videos: those that are instructional programming and prime-time programming. Instructional Television (ITV) describes programming that is produced by public television to support specific curriculum in the classroom. Generally all ITV programming is developed exclusively for use in the classroom. As a result, you will rarely have to deal with any issues pertaining to duplication rights.

For those videos that show broadcast or cable programming, you will need to investigate duplication rights. To learn more about the rights that pertain to duplication and off-air record for ITV programming, there are websites you can visit. One site to explore is the wNetSchool's Instructional Television Schedule. All the information is searchable and you will find the rights information you need to be sure you are within the specified guidelines.

The Cable in the Classroom (CIC) website or any website for the cable network you are using will provide this necessary information. Rights are often waived by those cable networks that participate in this program for teachers who use their programming within the classroom. Some may also offer only a portion of their programming for this use, so be sure to check first to avoid school videos problems later.

Lesson Preparations - School Video in Your Lesson