The coronavirus impacts more than just our health— it impacts the way we teach and the way students learn. As schools close to deal with this growing pandemic, educators and students find themselves having to adjust to online learning.

Making the Jump from Physical Classrooms to Online Learning

Millions have already embraced online learning. There are over 25 million people currently enrolled in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) such as Udemy and Coursera. MOOCs offer online courses in any topic, ranging from biology to real estate. Even though online learning is currently more accessible than ever, making the transition from a traditional classroom setting to an online environment can be difficult. 

Videos are an excellent tool to make this transition smooth. Whether you’re in a classroom or learning remotely, videos are great resources for educators and students alike.

You may have heard of Schoolhouse Rock or Crash Course. Videos from these series provide an overview of various topics and explain concepts concisely or through song. While these videos are useful and contribute to student learning, they only scratch the surface of how educators can use videos in the classroom.

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Yes, videos can help explain a concept, but they can also showcase practical applications of topics covered in class, provide context for a lesson, generate interest, and more. For example, say you’re teaching physics. As a teacher, you could mention that “horizontal velocity doesn’t impact the rate of gravity,” but taken out of context, physics is hard to swallow. What if, instead of just making a statement, you also showed a video of a famous scene from the movie Speed to demonstrate this concept in action?

You can then ask your students if the bus should have made the 50-foot jump and how they came to their conclusion. Pairing a video with thoughtful discussion questions sparks conversation and makes students think more deeply about their learning. They shift from passive viewers to active participants.

ClassHook Videos in Context

ClassHook enables teachers to find and effectively use videos in their lessons to facilitate discussion. With ClassHook, you can embed questions and prompts into videos and have students respond to these prompts in real-time or as part of a blended learning activity. Tools like ClassHook keep students engaged and actively participating with the material. For a tutorial on how you can utilize Live Discussions on ClassHook, click here.

Videos can take key concepts and put them into context for students. Whether it’s explaining a vocabulary word in English or introducing a specific time period in history, the right videos can help students process what they’re learning and relate it to the world around them. Since they’re from popular media, ClassHook’s videos are well-suited for creating this type of learning experience. We’ve compiled many other ways you can use videos in your lessons; click here to learn about them.

Our Offer of Support

We know there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world today, and ClassHook is here to help. If your school has been closed due to the coronavirus and you are looking for resources in your transition to online learning, we’re offering free premium subscriptions to schools and parents. We are entering an era where using technology for education is increasingly important, and ClassHook is here to make that transition as smooth as possible.