Using Educational Video in the Classroom Theory, Research and Practice

Selecting Video Content 
Selecting effective video is an essential component of integrating this medium 
into practice and realizing the promise of multimedia in the classroom. In reviewing the 
historical, political and economic contexts of each major classroom technology over the 

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past century, Fabos (2001) concludes that one of the most significant factors in the 
success or failure of an educational technology is the quality of the content, rather than 
the technology itself. Selecting video that has strong, visually-rich educational content is 
a critical element for maximizing the effectiveness of video.
Video is a visual medium, and optimal use capitalizes on the strengths of its 
visual material. This includes providing visual demonstrations or evidence, dramatizing 
events and concepts, and appealing to the emotions. Educational video with instructional 
strategies and cognitive modeling traits embedded in the video itself can aid in student 
comprehension. Examples range from zooming in on details, to providing titles and other 
attention-drawing graphics, to animations. Videos with closed captioning can further 
promote learners’ reading fluency and motivation to read (Lin, 2003).
Denning (no date) offers the following suggestions of positives to look for when 
evaluating videos: 
• Variation in the presentation 
• Humor 
• Age-appropriate narration and developmentally-appropriate thinking skills 
• Chunking, or organization in sections 
• Provision of meaningful examples 
• Posing of open-ended questions 
• Opportunities for students to carry out individual thinking 
• Opportunities for extension 
• Teacher guides outlining possibilities for previewing or extension activities.
Video becomes less effective if the selections shown depend too closely on non-visual 
elements of video and thus exploit the weaknesses of the medium by presenting abstract 
and non-visual information, relying too much on a “talking heads” style of conveying 
information or presenting intellectual arguments not backed up with physical evidence 
(Hampe, 2006). Since video conveys information that is both auditory and visual, these 
two modes must work in concert for video to be most effective. Overly-dramatic sound 

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tracks, visuals and narration that are not supportive of one another, and excessive use of 
still frames or slides can all detract from the educational message.