Observing my students struggle with worksheets based on videos was quite frustrating.  As all teachers do, I was thinking there must be a better way.  After trying pair-work and modifying learning activities, I decided to look further into technology.  I used Hot Potatoes and Adobe Captivate to place prompts and questions on the screen as the video played.   The results were satisfactory but the amount of time and energy required was unreasonable, especially when I thought about sharing these practices with my peers.  I started exploring more efficient options online through Web 2.0 options.  A few were easily located.  However, finding tools is one thing, but ensuring that they are intuitive and produce acceptable results is another.  I offer the following 6 tools as ways to make learning with video more sensible for your students.

The Tools

TubeChop allows you to easily crop any YouTube video and share it.  Cropping simply means setting a new starting point and ending point for the video to make it shorter for focused student viewing.  The example provided below demonstrates a video where the branding and the credits of the video are hidden from the students.  The basic steps of using TubeChop are to find a video, crop the video, and then share it or embed it in a web page or learning management system.

Vibby is a resource that is similar to TubeChop except the teacher can set many sections of the video rather than just the start and end points. This tool allows you to show a full-length movie in a digest format so you can focus on what is important. The exemplar below displays a few segments of jelly tennis from the Slo Mo Guys.   Only the action sequences are selected for the most exciting effect.

ESL Video is an older resource but worth mentioning here.   Teachers can use or create a multiple-choice quiz to accompany a web-based video.  Since it is ESL focused, many videos are set to specific learning levels. Generating quizzes is simple and fast.  The Mr. Bean example quizzes students on his daily routines.

Ted Ed Lessons provide the tools to create custom lessons that wrap around a video.  Learning event sections include Think, Dig Deeper, Discuss, and And Finally. Think includes the standard multiple choice and open-ended questions. Dig Deeper contains additional information, hyperlinks to additional resources, images, videos, and animations. The Discuss section functions as a normal online forum. The And Finally section allows instructors to prompt further exploitative learning.  The lesson on Confucius is a good example of a Ted Ed Lesson.

EdPuzzle is an innovative tool that allows teachers to add questions and comments based on a chosen YouTube video.  It provides intuitive tools for teachers to add multiple choice and open-ended questions based on video content.   Other features include cropping a video and inserting images or audio comments appear in image, text, or audio format.  The inflight safety video provides an example of the possibilities of using EdPuzzle.

Zaption is a free tool that allows you to quickly and easily create custom lessons with a video.  The learning events it provides include  multiple-choice questions, open ended questions, forum discussions, text/media comments, and hyperlinks.  The unique presentation of Zaption allows these elements to appear as overlays or video slide outs.  The presentation is contemporary which draws the students in and allows them to engage with the content. The example provided below demonstrates most of the features of Zaption.

Commonalities

All of these tools are free, hosted on the internet, and offer sharing to websites, learning management systems, and some social media sites through a web address or an embed code. Most of them allow you to re-purpose the work of others to save you preparation time as well.

Final Thoughts

I have benefited by using these tools as an instructor by manipulating video and creating interactive activities to increase student engagement with videos in the classroom. Knowing that most teachers are already too busy to dedicate the time to learning and producing engaging learning events with video, I highly recommend these resources.

I was wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar experience.  If you have, commenting below might help us all.

Resources

Enhancing Video Learning Events with Free Online Tools: http://www.slideshare.net/mrpottz/enhancing-video-learning-events-with-free-onlne-tools

EdPuzzle https://edpuzzle.com

ESL Video http://www.eslvideo.com

Ted Ed Lessons http://ed.ted.com

TubeChop  http://www.tubechop.com

Vibby https://www.vibby.com

Zaption https://www.zaption.com

Exemplars

EdPuzzle https://edpuzzle.com/media/56f797d484829061418017c8

ESL Video http://www.eslvideo.com/eslvideo_quiz_beg.php?id=25508

Ted Ed Lessons http://ed.ted.com/lessons/who-was-confucius-bryan-w-van-norden

TubeChop http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8048267

Vibby https://www.vibby.com/v/Qyeb0oeE4Z

Zaption http://zapt.io/tfk9hy8y

John Allan @mrpottz

Hi—I'm John Allan. I am an educator who works in the technology enhanced language learning field. I create online learning opportunities and mentor instructors on the Avenue project. I have experience teaching ESL and EFL in Canada and the Middle East. I hold an MSC in Computer Assisted Language learning, a M.Ed. in Distance Education, TESL B. Ed., a B.Ed. (OCT), and a variety of TESL relevant certifications from TESL Canada, TESL Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Education. For more articles, learning objects, projects and blog links see https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnharoldallan