Cable In The Classroom: Viewing Tips
CIC Viewing Tips
- Plan Your Lesson.
What is your objective? How does this video support your objective? What new concepts and vocabulary will your students need to learn? What activities can you create to accompany the program that will enhance students comprehension and reinforce or extend the new concepts? How will you evaluate what students should have learned?
- Preview the Program.
Is the program suitable for your needs? What parts of the program are relevant to your curriculum? At what point in your plans will the video be useful? A video should be a teaching tool, not a reward or baby-sitter.
- Prepare Your Tape.
Show only the best parts of the videotape. You don't need to show an hour long documentary if only certain segments are required. Use your VCR's tape counter to allow you to easily fast forward and rewind to the appropriate passage.
- Prepare Your Students.
Discuss what you are about to watch with your students. Go over any advanced concepts or vocabulary. Some teachers find outlines and worksheets useful to focus students attention during a video. Encourage them to be active viewers. Students will recall little of what they have seen if they do not know what they should be looking for.
- Position Yourself.
You should be near the VCR or have a remote control available. You also should be in a position to monitor the class. Do not do other work while the video is running; that implies you do not consider the program important. Leave the lights on. Kids can see the TV just fine and are less likely to fall asleep and get restless.
- Pause and Explain.
Stopping the tape lets you explain and emphasize key points, check student comprehension and also keep them alert. You can stop to prepare students for something important that's coming up or to ask them to predict what will happen. Pausing allows students time to absorb new information, process it and relate it to prior knowledge. You may wish to show key segments twice.
- Pose a Question.
As soon as the tape ends, ask a prepared question that will reinforce what the students have just seen or that will extend newly learned concepts to other situations. Take time to answer students questions and review the important information you wanted them to gather from the program.
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