Digital Parents: Edtech/Library Blog

Unlocking educational videos

Video is ubiquitous in the technology-rich world in which we live. Video is readily available at all times on all our devices and more content is created every second of the day. As of May 2022, over 500 hours of new video was uploaded to YouTube every minute! Whether it be for entertainment or education, video forms a large part of children’s use of technology. By turning educational watching into an active experience, you can build communication and trust between you and your child in unexpected ways. 

Actively viewing educational videos and documentaries requires your child to activate their prior knowledge, connect what they view to new information, and reflect to internalise learning. Active viewing is important for several reasons: 

• Enhances comprehension: When you actively view a video, you pay more attention to the content and make an effort to understand it. This can help you comprehend the information better and retain it in your memory. 
• Increases engagement: Actively viewing a video involves interacting with the content and thinking critically about what is being presented. This can make the experience more engaging and enjoyable. 
• Promotes critical thinking: When you actively view a video, you may question the information presented and evaluate it based on your own knowledge and experience. This can help you develop critical thinking skills and improve your ability to analyze and interpret information. 
• Helps with retention: Actively viewing a video can help you remember the information better. By engaging with the content, you are more likely to remember the key points and ideas presented. 

Strategies to Try at Home 

Before watching the video 

• Turn and talk – Ask your child questions about the content of the video. What do you know about this? What do you think it will be about? How is this topic like a video you’ve watched previously? 
• Brainstorm – Make a list of all the things you know about the topic. 
• Agree or Disagree? - Share a statement about the video topic with your child that requires them to agree or disagree such as: The heart is the most important organ in the body. 
• What do you see? What do you notice? - Look at the poster frame of the video BEFORE you push play. Discuss with your child what they see or notice. 

During the video 

• Pause Points – Stop the video at key points and discuss with your child how what you are both viewing connects to self, others and the world around them. 

After the video 

• Take Aways – Discuss with your child some key ideas or information that you both learned when watching the video. Ask questions like: What was the key idea? How can you use what you learned about? 

If you are looking for educational videos to watch with your child, WAB has a subscription to Brainpop. Accessible via Clever, Brainpop has a vast library of educational videos on a range of topics. Try out the strategies above to make your viewing of education videos a more active experience.