Video, both for instructional and communication purposes, has become well-established as a key learning tool in the post-pandemic era. Studies show that when video is used to replace lectures in a flipped classroom model, student learning outcome improve. In addition, video announcements and check-ins have become an essential tool for humanizing and establishing the instructor’s presence in online courses, not to mention for fulfilling federal requirements for regular contact between teacher and student.
Simply put, students feel more connected to and engaged with their instructor in an online course when they regularly see the professor’s face and hear their voice. In addition, incorporating multiple means of delivering instruction is a well-established recommended practice. And both that sense of connection and variety in the mode of instruction have been found to improve equity outcomes in online courses.
Ways to Use Video in Your Classes
There are generally three major ways that instructors can incorporate video into their courses:
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Short, instructor-made introduction videos, announcements, check-ins, or quick clarification videos
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More substantive instructor-made lecture videos
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Pre-made or “third-party”video that may come from various sources and of varied genres: documentaries, textbook publisher-created tutorials, interviews, case study footage, and so on.
