This week, I had the pleasure of walking through classrooms and seeing some fantastic curriculum resources in action. But it also got me thinking: having great materials is only half the battle. How do we ensure those resources translate into deep, lasting student learning? The chai is ready and so am I. Let’s go.
A Powerful Tool, If Wielded Correctly
The more I observe learning in classrooms, I start to see how having strong curriculum resources does not always equal student success in learning. The instruction is not as strong as it could be. There are so many reasons for this, but I believe part of the issue is that many teachers may not know how to build in strong instruction. This is not their fault. In a time when teacher shortages are plaguing school districts, many new teachers are placed in a classroom without any formal training or a rushed alternative certification. This means they may not have the pedagogical background many of their veteran counterparts have. Not to mention, the curriculum is so tight, I can see teachers (novice and veteran) doing their best to power through to stay on pace. Sometimes this also means pushing play on a video and letting it run simply to get it done – checking off the curricular box so to speak.
First, I have zero issues with using videos for learning. I am an incredibly visual learner and love watching videos to see examples for new concepts. The risk, however, is that without intentional planning, video watching can become passive. Students might be entertained, but are they truly processing, questioning, and connecting with the information? Seeing so many videos in a variety of classrooms sparked a question: Are we using video to its full potential, or are we sometimes letting it become a passive viewing experience?
Pressing Pause for Learning
Videos are a great tool to help with learning. However, the longer a video plays the more opportunities for students to zone out. The best way to use them is to engage throughout the video not only at the beginning or the end. This can be done with strategic pausing and chunking. Don’t play the whole clip! Break it into short, digestible segments (1-3 minutes). Pause intentionally after a key concept, a surprising fact, or a natural transition point. There are two ways you can do this:
- The old fashion way – literally pause the video and have your instructional strategies ready
- Using a digital tool with built in features to pause the video
Once the video is paused, there are a variety of things students can do to engage in what they are watching:
- Think-Pair-Share: After pausing, pose a question and have students discuss it with a partner before sharing out. Timers are key here. If you want to time how long students have to think and then how much time each person shares, it can give structure and help you keep pace. Additionally, this ensures everyone processes the information and has a voice in sharing out.
- Stop and Jot/Sketch: Have students quickly write down the most important point, a question they have, or sketch a visual representation of the concept just explained. This makes their thinking visible. (If you have introduced sketchnoting in class already, this is a great moment to exercise those skills.)
- Targeted Questioning (High DOK): Our district uses the DOK framework for designing questions. This is a great resource if you are manually pausing and encouraging discussion as well as a fantastic way to design questions to go into the video in various digital tools.
- Guided Notes/Graphic Organizers: Provide a simple handout where students fill in key terms, answer questions, or complete a diagram while watching segments. You can easily give students the opportunity to pause the video themselves and rewatch certain parts by making this an individual assignment as well.
These strategies are effective because it connects to concepts like active recall, spaced practice (if chunking), and collaborative learning. These kind of interactions move information from short-term to long-term memory.
Digital Toolkit for Interactive Video
As mentioned above, you can incorporate digital tools to assist with video engagement. The tools listed below are ones I’ve interacted with or used in the past and not listed in any particular order. It does not mean these are the only tools or the only way to use digital resources to make videos more engaging. Once you see how each tool works, you may find other options out there are work similarly.
Edpuzzle: This is the OG digital tool for video interaction. It allows you to take almost any video (from YouTube, Khan Academy, or your own uploads) and embed questions, audio notes, or links.
Nearpod: While Nearpod is a full lesson platform, its video features are excellent. You can upload videos and add activities like open-ended questions or polls that appear at specified points. This is a great option for making a video a single component within a larger, multi-activity lesson.
WeVideo/PlayPosit: I actually haven’t been in WeVideo in many years. Apparently, they acquired PlayPosit (which is another tool I explored years ago) a few years ago. According to the internet this one is similar to Edpuzzle, PlayPosit lets teachers add a wide variety of interactive elements (“bulbs”) like questions, discussions, and polls into videos.
Google Classroom: For districts using Google Workspace for Education Plus or the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, this is a game-changer. Google Classroom allows you to add questions directly into a YouTube video when creating an assignment. When you attach a YouTube video to an assignment, you’ll see an “Add questions” option. This allows you to pause the video at any point and insert multiple-choice, checkbox, or open-ended questions.
Videos are a great resource for learning especially for helping students see concepts in action. I encourage you to choose just ONE strategy from the list to try the next time they plan to use a video. You don’t have to overhaul your lesson. Simply pressing pause a few times and asking students to interact with what they are watching can transform a passive viewing experience into a dynamic learning activity.
An Educational Cup of Tea 
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