Thomas Edison once said “the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.” One hundred years later, I am still using textbooks in my classroom, but they are not the only tool used to educate my students. I strive to reach my students through a combination of textbooks, articles, websites, and video. One of my favorite ways to incorporate videos into my lessons is the web application EdPuzzle.
So what is it about EdPuzzle that gets me so excited about it? Well, let’s start with my evolution of video in school. When I was in elementary school, as students we would watch movies on 16mm film. (Does anyone else remember “stop now if film is chattering” announced at the beginning of the film?)
By the time I was in middle school, film projectors were replaced with VCRs wheeled from classroom to classroom. With the lights dimmed, it was easy to drift off to sleep or daydream. The majority of my 10th grade World Cultures class was spent watching videos and though I still remember Big Bird going to China, I don’t recall learning much in that class.
Eventually teachers caught on to the fact that students were not paying attention and began creating question guides to be completed along with the video. I still use this method in my classroom for longer videos, but what about those shorter ones, those under 15 minutes? How do I hold the student’s attention? In comes EdPuzzle.
Founded in 2013, this educational video platform allows teachers to personalize videos that are individually assigned to students. The students can work at their own pace while answering both closed- and open-ended questions. Student engagement levels are significantly higher due to accountability and personalization. Features of EdPuzzle include the ability to adjust the length of the video, add questions and comments, and view student progress. It links up with Google Classroom so teachers can easily import their classes and export assignments. Available content includes popular channels such as Crash Course, TED Talks as well as Youtube and Khan Academy.
As most school districts are doing, mine went to 1:1 with Chromebooks last school year. Now that each student is issued a Chromebook, it is so much easier to incorporate edtech into my lessons. Though you may hear some students complain about doing “another EdPuzzle,” their scores show they are engaged and learning. They perform better on tests and contribute more to classroom discussions. I wonder what Mr. Edison would think of motion picture being used in this way in the modern classroom.