Using Educational Video in the Classroom Theory, Research and Practice

New Technologies: The Age of Video-on-Demand 
In 1997, a survey by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting indicated that a 
growing number of teachers (93%) used TV programming on tape all or most of the time, 
rather than relying on live television, for the ease and benefits of videotape medium, 
including convenience, the ability to show the same tape to multiple sections of a class 
and greater control over how the material is presented. Today, video continues to have 
“significant staying power” in classrooms, although with new technology, “video is 
finding its way into schools through different paths,” according to market research by 
Grunwald Associates (Branigan, 2005).
One of the most exciting of those new paths is Video-on-Demand (VOD) 
systems, tools that make unprecedented numbers of videos available to classroom 
teachers exactly when and as they want them. The videos are digitized, then stored on a 
computer server, where they can be accessed at any time by teachers or students. This 
may be a local server, housed at either an individual school or district, and accessed 
through the school network. Alternatively, the content may be stored at a non-local site 
and streamed over the Internet, though this may sometimes overload the available 
bandwidth, causing the video to be jerky.
Video-on-Demand does away with many of the inconveniences of playing video 
in either cassette or DVD form: locating the desired content in hard copy in a library or 
for purchase, reserving that title and the equipment needed to play it on, cuing it up prior 

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to class or between classes, switching hard copies to change to a new program, etc. 
Instead, teachers can search for the content they need on any networked computer, find 
exactly the content they need from a variety of sources and play it at their convenience, 
either as part of a planned multimedia lesson or by seizing the “teachable moment.” 
Digital delivery of video allows for far greater flexibility of searching than is 
possible with hard copy. Because the content is stored digitally, it can be indexed and 
metatagged by educators to provide searchable indexes of every program by not only 
showing summaries, but also key curricular concepts, making it possible to search by 
keyword for the exact content contained within a video or video segment. Using a VOD 
system, teachers can easily locate targeted content, searching by keyword, subject area or 
even state educational standards.
As Denning (no date) points out, one of the best ways of avoiding what he terms 
“television response,” or passive consumption of media, is to exploit the ability of video 
to be shown in short, relevant segments and to use segments from multiple programs. 
However, editing together a precise sequence of video clips onto one video cassette, as he 
suggests, can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process when using only a video 
recorder. Digital video is designed to facilitate this process, making it an easy and quick 
process to locate, segment and arrange clips to suit the exact needs of a particular lesson.
In fact, the ability of VOD systems to assist teachers in locating and presenting 
short, targeted clips of no more than two to five minutes in length dovetails exactly with 
expert recommendations for video usage: “Most educational experts agree that video is 
best shown in short segments so as to maximize learners’ concentration” (Shephard, 
2003, p. 296). Video-on-Demand facilitates the process of embedding video, or threading 
brief segments throughout a lesson, a strategy beginning to be supported by research (for 

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example, see Chambers, Cheung, Madden, Slavin & Gifford, 2006). Digital delivery 
frees classroom practice so that students can control their own watching of clips 
supporting a lesson, repeating and reviewing as needed for comprehension. In one study 
of two science classrooms, researchers found that the use of digital clips significantly 
promoted learning in three critical ways: 
Firstly, the computer environment afforded student control of the pacing of the 
POE [predict-observe-explain] tasks…[and] also contributed to a high level of 
ownership of responses….Secondly, the computer-based digital clips afforded 
new opportunities for students in the crucial observation phase of the POE process 
by providing a refined tool for students to make detailed observations of events, 
enhancing the quality of observations on their predictions….Thirdly, the real-life 
physical settings depicted in the video clips were interesting and relevant for the 
students and helped them to feel comfortable and confident in voicing their 
opinions…(Kearney, 2002)
Collecting clips into playlists or integrating them into a multimedia lesson plan makes the 
creation of such learning experiences easier than it has ever been before.
It is clear that this new technology opens many new opportunities for learning that 
are just beginning to be explored. As the documented strengths of film, television and 
video are made more and more available and accessible through Video-on-Demand 
systems, the potential for learning and exploration opens up before us.

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WORKS CITED 
Aiex, N.K. (1988). Using film, video, and TV in the classroom. ERIC Digest, No 11. 
Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
Aiex, N.K. (1999). Mass media use in the classroom. ERIC Digest D147. Bloomington, 
IN: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
Barnes, B., ed. (1997). The power of classroom TV: A marketing and advocacy document