Last year when I was creating video lessons for my students to watch at their own pace, I discovered how challenging it can be to get students to actually WATCH the videos.
Here’s how one conversation went with a student who didn’t have headphones and was watching the video muted:
Me: How’s it going?Student: Oh pretty good! Just watching the videos?Me: Do you have any headphones?Student: Oh no, but I didn’t think I could have my volume up.Me: It’s going to be pretty tough to understand the lesson if you can’t hear anything I’m saying in the video.Student: Yeah…that’s true. I guess I should probably turn it up a little bit.Me: Yeah that’s probably a good call.
Meanwhile, another kid was seeing how quickly he could click his mouse to pause and unpause the video repeatedly.
A couple other students were watching a video together. Well…the video was playing in front of them; neither of them had their notes out or were even listening.
It’s hard not to take it personally when students just don’t really seem interested in watching your video lesson.
But we don’t get better at our practice by asking ‘why won’t these freaking kids just watch my videos?!’ but instead by asking ‘how can I make these videos more engaging?’
A good starting point is to follow these guidelines:
- Keep your videos under 6 minutes
- Have students complete guided notes while watching
- Avoid having tons of text on the screen
But there are a few things that can go further in making your videos more engaging:
- Show your face. It helps kids connect.
- Don’t restart your video when a family member walks into your frame, just go with it! Kids will love the unexpected nature of it and the peek into your life outside of school.
- Start each video off with a super cringey joke. The groans as students are watching them in class will be priceless.
In this week’s short 3-minute video, I share a lot more ways to create video lessons that students WANT to watch.
Click below to check it out!
Conclusion & Resources
If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our other video on how to build an online lesson from start to finish.
