Using Educational Video in the Classroom Theory, Research and Practice

particularly important for lower achieving students and for students with low 
knowledge in the domain of interest. Third, video allows students to develop 
skills of pattern recognition which are related to visual and auditory cues rather 
than to events labeled by the teacher. In sum, video images are ideal for creating a 
common experience for the teacher and learner that can be used for ‘anchoring’ 
new knowledge. (Bransford et al. cited in Barron, 1989, p. 3) 
For students learning English as a second language, video and film demonstrate 
communicative language within a language environment and cultural context (Wood, 
cited in Aiex, 1999). Video, especially film, provides a social context for English 
language learners; it can be played either with the sound on, so that students hear the 
language being spoken, or alternatively, with the sound off, so that learners can use their 
own language skills to provide the dialog or narrative.
How can video support the development of 21
st
-century literacies? 
Over the past decade, researchers have increasingly turned their attention to the 
question of what “literacy” means in this era of rapidly expanding information and 
communication technologies, particularly the Internet. What skills do students need to 
navigate, interpret and assess information in a world no longer primarily dependent on 
print as a means of communicating? These “new literacies” are an evolving target, as new 
technologies are appearing at a rapid pace, and identifying what literacy skills students 
need to successfully “read” and use such tools as multimedia web pages, video editors, 

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virtual worlds, etc., has provoked a great deal of theorizing (see Semali, 2001; Coiro, 
2003; Leu, Kinzer, Coiro & Cammack, 2004).
An interesting pattern to emerge is renewed attention to literacies that were 
identified long before the current explosion of digital media, but that are now being 
reprioritized as critical 21
st
-century skills. While the definitions—and the exact 
boundaries drawn between literacies—vary slightly, organizations such as the The Pacific 
Bell/UCLA Initiative for 21
st
Century Literacies, The New Media Consortium (NMC), 
and NCREL (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory) all agree that the ability to 
learn from and through multimedia like video remains central to functioning as a fully-
literate individual, and all prioritize visual and media literacies as crucial skills. The 
PB/UCLA Initiative includes visual literacy and media literacy as two of its four central 
skills, while the NMC’s New Media Literacy & Learning Initiative “centers on the 
abilities and skills where aural, visual and digital literacy overlap” (NMC Projects). 
NCREL’s enGauge framework for understanding 21
st
-century skills includes visual 
literacy as a central component.
Although students spend more than a quarter of each day engaged with various 
forms of media, and television in particular (Rideout, Roberts & Foehr, 2005), research 
indicates that mere exposure is not sufficient for students to acquire significant visual or 
media literacy (Messaris, 2001). Rather, explicit instruction is required to equip young 
people with the critical discrimination skills they need.