Advantages of Using the Video Camera in the Classroom
An increasing number of schools and teachers are using video cameras in the classroom. Whether it's recording a lesson to monitor student behavior, or assigning students to watch a podcast, video helps students learn. This article details some of the advantages of having a video camera in the classroom.
Expert Insight
Using technology, including video cameras, in the classroom can improve the way students learn, according to a recent U.S. Department of Education report. "By leveraging technology, schools can customize instruction and ensure that children who need extra help get it," the report states.
The department's Office of Educational Technology supports this idea. It examines U.S. schools' technological needs and the teaching trends taking place in schools. One type of technology helping teachers educate their students is the video camera.
Significance
Video is growing in popularity, and more students are using the medium as a research tool for their schoolwork. Whether kids are looking for facts about frogs or help in writing a book report, there is often a video on the Internet that provides them with the information they need.
The website YouTube is the second most-used search engine, after Google. According to recent figures, Americans conducted about 2.8 billion searches on YouTube---about 200 million more than on Yahoo, according to comScore.
Examples of Video in the Classroom
Videoconferencing is one way students benefit from use of video in the classroom. About 25 percent of U.S. public schools use videoconferencing to supplement its curriculum, according to Alan Greenberg, video communications expert. The medium allows students to connect with and learn from people they may not otherwise have access to. For example, some schools use videoconferencing to connect with NASA astronauts.
Video podcasts, audio and video clips that can be recorded and uploaded to the Internet, are another format in which students use to learn.
Benefits
Video helps kids learn. Use of a video camera in the classroom can boost students' test scores. New York college students given access to video podcasts of a psychology lecture averaged 9 percent better on tests than students without access. One advantage to the video podcasts was that students could replay sections of the lecture they didn't understand. One teacher in Oklahoma dresses up like a librarian and records video podcasts to teach her students about the importance of reading.
Potential
Use of a video camera in the classroom can help teachers to teach better and students to behave better. Teachers may use a video camera to document important lessons throughout the school year. They can also play back those recordings during parent-teacher conferences.
Finally, teachers can use video cameras to record themselves to learn improve their teaching methods.
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