subject: The Importance Of Educational Dvds In The Classroom: [print this page] There was a time when teachers just had a chalkboard, few posters, and books as the primary tools to teach kids in the classroom. Today, there are many classrooms where you can find televisions and DVDs in the classroom to increase student engagement. It is because people tend to be more affected by what they see rather than a quick lecture.
Educational DVDs are a big hit in classrooms as they can be exciting and fun. This is because educational videos are more like a story than a lecture (usually!), and humans tend to remember concepts and facts presented to them in a story. When people listen or watch a story, their imaginations and sympathies are engaged. We empathize with the main character and his/her problem, and develop a keen interest in how that problem will be eventually solved. Sometimes the main character really is you and you really do want to see, step-by-step, how the problem is solved.
All good educational videos are stories that engage the mind and imagination - with a soundtrack and special effects, too! This is obviously the case with video productions of literature works in the English classroom, but it applies to other curriculum topics, as well. Educational videos for the science classroom may tell the story of how water travels around in its cycle - with the main character either being the presenter going here and there to demonstrate various points in the story.
Alternatively, in higher grades, educational videos demonstrating how to perform experiments may show how the main character (the guy/girl in the lab coat) overcomes the problem of, say, generating electricity.
Drama is a great way to engage your students' imaginations and interest, and if you are able to put on a costume and put a bit of fun into your lesson, your students certainly will not be bored. When you lesson plan for mathematics, you can use one of the Math DVDs, put on your out-of-the-box creative hat and see what you can do.
The most valuable and affordable resource for enhancing your classroom lessons is still educational videos and DVDs. So make sure you are using video the right way, see immediate benefits in your students engagement, retention, and test performance. Many online shopping sites sell Educational DVDs. It will be a good idea to check a few of these sites and then make a good decision. Technology must be viewed as just another tool in your lesson- and not the lesson in itself.
