Using Video in the Classroom. Be a Producer

When we work with a video, there are two roles which we can have:

• Consumer
• Producer

Being a consumer is our habit. This is what we normally do: we choose a video, create some exercises for it; we bring to the classroom and show it to students. In this case:

- teachers are passive;

- class is quiet because they are busy with watching and doing exercises;

- it is time for a teacher to relax a bit.

Being a producer is completely different. It is not typical for our classrooms but it is more engaging and highly practical. In this case:

- teacher and students are active;

- the class is very noisy because everyone is involved;

- there is lots of activity in the classroom.

In this post, I am going to share ideas of Ceri Jones from her webinar "Integrating video in our secondary classroom", which I personally found amazing and innovative, but simple at the same time. If you are interested in more details, you can watch the whole webinar below:

I will summarize Ceri Jones's practical suggestions below.

MICRO TASKS = in class, one take, use immediately

Example 1: Silent movies (2-3 people)

• Choose a verb or different part of speech;
• Make a short, silent video illustrating this word (10 seconds);
• Swap phones and show your clips to another pair;
• Guess word and write it down;
• Put it in a sentence (personalize);
• Think about what happened before and after that and write two more sentences;
• Extra: create a story, record further short scenes.

STUDENTS CAN SHARE THEIR VIDEOS IMMIDIATELY
“NO PHONE RULE” – ASK PERMISSION TO USE IT AS A CAMERA or LET THEM DO IT AT HOME

Example 2: #OOTD - Outfit of the day (pair work)

• Shoot a video (no longer that 1 minute) – selfie or with your partner;
• Self-dictation (transcript of your speech);
• Self-correction (it is becoming more visual);
• (Optional) exchange and transcribe each other (more objective);
• Recast the script (make it more formal and complete) – third-person voice over.

Example 3: Generating writing (writing reviews)

• Choose your favourite TV program or TV series;
• Instead of brainstorming on paper students videotape their ideas for reviews
• Good for shy students – they become more confident during the process;
• Everyone listens to one person, teacher is a camera man;
• Students list what she/he said independently;
• Share your lists and choose most appropriate facts for the review;
• Students go and write a review.

Example 4: Oral Exam Preparation

• Watch example of the oral exam on YouTube;
• Set up a classroom as a mock exam room;
• Group students (3-4 people: examiner (or two), examinee, cameraman);
• Students film each other taking mock exam;
• Students watch each other’s videos and grade their performance;
• Dig Deeper: What else could you say? What could you say differently? 

Example 5: Video as audio
Students create their own tasks for each other (like listening tasks at an exam):

• Share personal anecdotes on a given topic; 
• Choose one and write it as a short text; 
• Create 1-3 multiple-choice questions to accompany the story; 
• Record the story on the phone; 
• Exchange phones and complete the listening task. 

VIDEO IS NOT A FINAL PRODUCT
MINIMAL TEACHER SUPPORT IS REQUIRED
PEER FEEDBACK ON CONTENT AND COMPREHENSIBILITY
TEACHER'S FEEDBACK ON PRONUNCIATION, BODY LANGUAGE, ETC.

Example 6: Videos as homework

• PADLET page - share your videos on your own wall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuzciL8qCYM
• CERTAIN TIME – 10-15-second video at particular time, then in class show and say where they were, what they did, what happened just before or after it; 
• ROLE PLAYS – where, who, problem – show to others and let them guess.

Some of these examples are described in many details at the webinar so, if you want to watch some examples and hear clearer explanations, you can find them in the original webinar.

I hope these ideas will be very helpful to make your classes more engaging and student-centered.