More and more and more I see educators using video as part of their instruction. Whether they find a great video that covers the content well or create their own with a quick screencast or webcam video, many educators struggle with assigning video content because they fear that students won’t really watch it (or they just won’t pay attention). Just as great educators often infuse their face-to-face lessons with formative assessments  to engage and hold students accountable (such as high-level questioning, turn and talk, and signals to indicate understanding), we must do the same when assigning video! Here are three great strategies for doing JUST that!

1. Embed Video in Slides

Embed the video you want students to watch into Google Slides with questions RIGHT next to the video so that students can easily pause to answer or rewatch, as needed. Check out my simple example below:

You can even break down one video so that students watch a short chunk, answer a couple of questions, then watch another chunk, answer questions, and so on by utilizing the playback options available within Google Slides.

To adjust the playback times on a video embedded in Google Slides:

• Click on the video so it is has a box around it
• Click “Format Options” from the menu
• A side bar opens
• Click on “Video Playback”
• Choose your start time and end time

You can then embed the same video on the next slide, but have it only play the NEXT chunk of information students need to answer the questions on THAT slide. This keeps students both engaged – as the video is broken down into chunks – and accountable – with questions to gauge comprehension and application.

Grab a copy of the template by clicking here!

2. Embed Video in a Google Form

Have you ever noticed that there is a lot more Google Forms will let you add than just a question? Underneath that plus sign, there are a LOT of options! One of them is VIDEO! At this point, it is only youtube videos – so you’ll have to choose a video that is already on youtube, or upload your self-created video to youtube in order to embed it into a Google Form. Check out my example Form below that asks you to watch the video before responding to the questions below:

To add video into your own Google Form:

• Click the Video Icon in the vertical menu to the right of the title or question
• Search for or paste in your video
• Done!
• Add questions just below to keep students engaged and accountable!

3. edPuzzle

edPuzzle is a freemium website (meaning you can use some features for free, but can pay more for more access) that allows you to search for educational videos or upload your own and add in stopping points, questions, and your own content throughout! It also provides teachers with a dashboard that shows how much time students spend on each question and the assignment, who got which questions right or wrong, and more! It is truly a game-changer! Check it out and play around with the free features to keep students engaged and accountable as they watch educational videos!