Category: great

  • 5 tips for educators using video

    5 tips for educators using video

    Key points:

    When you need to fix your sink, learn how to use AI, or cook up a new recipe, chances are you searched on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or even Facebook–and found a video, watched it, paused it, rewound it, and successfully accomplished your goal. Why? Videos allow you to get the big picture, and then pause, rewind, and re-watch the instruction as many times as you want, at your own pace.  Video-based instruction offers a hands-free, multichannel (sight and sound) learning experience. Creating educational videos isn’t an “extra” for creating instruction in today’s world; it’s essential.

    As an educator, over the past 30 years, I’ve created thousands of instructional videos. I started creating videos at Bloomsburg University early in my career so I could reinforce key concepts, visually present ideas, and provide step-by-step instruction on software functionality to my students. Since those early beginnings, I’ve had the chance to create video-based courses for Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning) and for my YouTube channel.

    Creating instructional videos has saved me time, expanded my reach, and allowed me to have more impact on my students.

    Tips

    Creating educational videos over the years has taught me a number of key lessons that can help you, too, to create impactful and effective instructional videos.

    Be yourself and have fun

    The first rule is to not overthink it. You are not giving a performance; you are connecting with your students. In your instructional video, talk directly to your students and connect with them. The video should be an extension of your personality. If you tell silly jokes in class, tell silly jokes in the video. You want your authentic voice, your expressions, and your energy in the videos you create.

    And don’t worry about mistakes. When I first did Lynda.com courses, any small mistake I made meant we had to redo the take. However, over the years, the feedback I’ve received on the videos across LinkedIn Learning indicated that flawless performances were not the way to go because they didn’t feel “real.” Real people make mistakes, misspeak, and mispronounce words. Students want to connect with you, not with flawless editing. If you stumble over a word, laugh it off and keep going. The authenticity makes the student feel like you’re right there with them. If you watch some of my current LinkedIn Learning courses, you’ll notice some mistakes, and that’s okay–it’s a connection, not a distraction.

    Speak with the students, don’t lecture

    Video gives you the chance to have an authentic connection with the student as if you were sitting across the desk from them, having a friendly but informative chat. When filming, look directly into the camera, but don’t stare–keep it natural. In actual conversations, two people don’t stare at each other, they occasionally look away or look to the side. Keep that in mind as you are recording. Also make sure you smile, are animated, and seem excited to share your knowledge. Keep your tone conversational, not formal. Don’t slip into “lecture mode.” When you look directly into the camera and speak directly to the student, you create a sense of intimacy, presence, and connection. That simple shift from a lecture mindset to conversation will make the video far more impactful and help the learning to stick.

    Record in short bursts

    You don’t have to record a one-hour lecture all at once. In fact, don’t!  A marathon recording session isn’t good for you. It creates fatigue, mistakes, and the dreaded “do-over” spiral where one slip-up makes you want to restart the entire video. Instead, record in short bursts, breaking your content into segments. Usually, I try to record only about four to five minutes at a time.  The beauty of this technique is that if it’s completely a mess and needs a total “do over,” you only need to re-record a few minutes, not the entire lecture. This is a lifesaver. Before I began using this technique, I dreaded trying to get an entire one-hour lecture perfect for the recording, even though I was rarely perfect in delivering it in class. But the pressure, because it was recorded, was almost overwhelming.

    Now, I record in small segments and either put them all together after I’ve recorded them individually or present them to students individually. The advantage of individually recorded videos for students is that it makes the content easier to learn. They can re-watch the exact piece they struggled with instead of hunting through an hour-long video to find just what they need.

    Keep it moving

    A word of caution: We’ve all seen those videos. You know the ones: A tiny talking head hovers in the corner, reading every bullet point like it’s the audiobook version of the slide while the same slide just sits there for 15 minutes with no movement and no animation–not even a text flying in from the left. Ugh. Don’t let your visuals sit there like wallpaper. Instead, strive for movement. About every 30 seconds, give learners something new to look at. That could mean switching to the next slide, drawing live on a whiteboard, cutting to you speaking and then back to the slide, or animating an illustration to show movement. The point is that motion grabs attention. For a video, cut down your wall-of-text slides. Use fewer words and more slides. If you have 50 words crammed on one slide, split it into three slides. Insert an image, a chart, or even a simple sketch. If you’re teaching software, demonstrate it on screen instead of describing it in words. If you’re explaining a process, illustrate the steps as you go. The more movement, the more likely you are to hold the learner’s attention.

    Keep production simple

    The good news about creating educational videos is that you don’t need a big budget or a film crew to get started. All you need is a camera, a good microphone, and a simple video creation tool. Now, I would advise not using your laptop’s built-in camera or microphone. They don’t do the job well. You don’t want a grainy, pixelated picture or muffled audio. They make it too hard for students to focus and even harder for them to stay engaged. For video, I recommend using an external webcam. Even a modest one is a huge step up from what’s baked into most PCs. For audio, go with an external microphone, or even a good-quality headset. For the video tool, I have not found a simpler or easier-to-use tool than Camtasia’s free online, cloud-based tool. The free version lets you record your screen, capture your voice, do slight edits, and add backgrounds.  It is more than enough to create clear, useful videos that your students can actually learn from. Remember, the goal isn’t Hollywood production. You want clear, effective, and authentic instructional videos.

    By using these five tips, educators can create instructional videos to save time, expand their reach, and create greater impacts on their students. Grab a good camera, a decent headset, and free video software, and create your first instructional video. Just simply start. You’ll wonder why you waited so long.

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  • Why new math problems won’t solve our nation’s math problem

    Why new math problems won’t solve our nation’s math problem

    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #4 focuses on making math instruction more relevant to students.

    Key points:

    How much longer will we keep trying to solve our nation’s dismal math proficiency problem by writing new math problems? Clearly, if that was the answer, it would have worked by now–but it hasn’t, as evidenced by decades of low proficiencies, historic declines post-COVID, and the widest outcome gaps in the world.

    The real question students are asking is, “When am I ever going to use this?” As a former math teacher, I learned that addressing this question head-on made all the difference. Students’ success in math wasn’t found in a book–it was found in how math applied to them, in its relevance to their future career plans. When math concepts were connected to real-world scenarios, they transformed from distant and abstract ideas into meaningful, tangible skills.

    My first-hand experience proved the premise of education innovator Dr. Bill Daggett’s “rigor-relevance-relationship” framework. If students know what they’re learning has real-life implications, meaning and purpose will ensure that they become more motivated and actively engaged in their learning.

    Years later, I founded the nonprofit Pathway2Careers with a commitment to use education research to inform good policy and effective practice. From that foundation, we set out on a path to develop a first-of-its-kind approach to math instruction that led with relevance through career-connected learning (CCL).

    In our initial pilot study in 2021, students overwhelmingly responded positively to the curriculum. After using our career-connected math lessons, 100 percent of students reported increased interest in learning math this way. Additionally, they expressed heightened curiosity about various career pathways–a significant shift in engagement.

    In a more comprehensive survey of 537 students spanning grades 7–11 (with the majority in grades 8 and 9) in 2023, the results reinforced this transformation. Students reported a measurable increase in motivation, with:

    • 48 percent expressing “much more” or “slightly more” interest in learning math
    • 52 percent showing greater curiosity about how math skills are applied in careers
    • 55 percent indicating newfound interest in specific career fields
    • 60 percent wanting to explore different career options
    • 54 percent expressing a stronger desire to learn how other skills translate to careers

    Educators also noted significant benefits. Teachers using the curriculum regularly–daily or weekly–overwhelmingly rated it as effective. Specifically, 86 percent indicated it was “very effective” or “somewhat effective” in increasing student engagement, and 73 percent highlighted improved understanding of math’s relevance to career applications. Other reported benefits included students’ increased interest in pursuing higher education and gaining awareness of various postsecondary options like certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees.

    Building on these promising indicators of engagement, we analyzed students’ growth in learning as measured by Quantile assessments administered at the start and end of the academic year. The results exceeded expectations:

    • In Pre-Algebra, students surpassed the national average gain by 101 Quantiles (141Q vs. 40Q)
    • Algebra I students achieved more than triple the expected gains (110Q vs. 35Q)
    • Geometry learners outpaced the average by 90 Quantiles (125Q vs. 35Q)
    • Algebra II showed the most significant growth, with students outperforming the norm by 168 Quantiles (198Q vs. 30Q)

    These outcomes are a testament to the power of relevance in education. By embedding math concepts within real-world career contexts, we transformed abstract concepts into meaningful, tangible skills. Students not only mastered math content at unprecedented levels but also began to see the subject as a critical tool for their futures.

    What we found astounded even us, though we shouldn’t have been surprised, based on decades of research that indicated what would happen. Once we answered the question of when students would use this, their mastery of the math content took on purpose and meaning. Contextualizing math is the path forward for math instruction across the country.

    And there’s no time to waste. As a recent Urban Institute study indicated, students’ math proficiencies were even more significant than reading in positively impacting their later earning power. If we can change students’ attitudes about math, not just their math problems, the economic benefits to students, families, communities, and states will be profound.

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  • 4 ways AI is empowering the next generation of great teachers

    4 ways AI is empowering the next generation of great teachers

    Key points:

    In education, we often talk about “meeting the moment.” Our current moment presents us with both a challenge and an opportunity: How can we best prepare and support our teachers as they navigate increasingly complex classrooms while also dealing with unprecedented burnout and shortages within the profession?

    One answer could lie in the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence to help share feedback with educators during training. Timely, actionable feedback can support teacher development and self-efficacy, which is an educator’s belief that they will make a positive impact on student learning. Research shows that self-efficacy, in turn, reduces burnout, increases job satisfaction, and supports student achievement. 

    As someone who has spent nearly two decades supporting new teachers, I’ve witnessed firsthand how practical feedback delivered quickly and efficiently can transform teaching practice, improve self-efficacy, and support teacher retention and student learning.

    AI gives us the chance to deliver this feedback faster and at scale.

    A crisis demanding new solutions

    Teacher shortages continue to reach critical levels across the country, with burnout cited as a primary factor. A recent University of Missouri study found that 78 percent of public school teachers have considered quitting their profession since the pandemic. 

    Many educators feel overwhelmed and under-supported, particularly in their formative years. This crisis demands innovative solutions that address both the quality and sustainability of teaching careers.

    What’s often missing in teacher development and training programs is the same element that drives improvement in other high-performance fields: immediate, data-driven feedback. While surgeons review recordings of procedures and athletes get to analyze game footage, teachers often receive subjective observations weeks after teaching a lesson, if they receive feedback at all. Giving teachers the ability to efficiently reflect on AI-generated feedback–instead of examining hours of footage–will save time and potentially help reduce burnout.

    The transformative potential of AI-enhanced feedback

    Recently, Relay Graduate School of Education completed a pilot program with TeachFX using AI-powered feedback tools that showed remarkable promise for our teacher prep work. Our cohort of first- and second-year teachers more than doubled student response opportunities, improved their use of wait time, and asked more open-ended questions. Relay also gained access to objective data on student and teacher talk time, which enhanced our faculty’s coaching sessions.

    Program participants described the experience as “transformative,” and most importantly, they found the tools both accessible and effective.

    Here are four ways AI can support teacher preparation through effective feedback:

    1. Improving student engagement through real-time feedback

    Research reveals that teachers typically dominate classroom discourse, speaking for 70-80 percent of class time. This imbalance leaves little room for student voices and engagement. AI tools can track metrics such as student-versus-teacher talk time in real time, helping educators identify patterns and adjust their instruction to create more interactive, student-centered classrooms.

    One participant in the TeachFX pilot said, “I was surprised to learn that I engage my students more than I thought. The data helped me build on what was working and identify opportunities for deeper student discourse.”

    2. Freeing up faculty to focus on high-impact coaching

    AI can generate detailed transcripts and visualize classroom interactions, allowing teachers to reflect independently on their practice. This continuous feedback loop accelerates growth without adding to workloads.

    For faculty, the impact is equally powerful. In our recent pilot with TeachFX, grading time on formative observation assignments dropped by 60 percent, saving up to 30 hours per term. This reclaimed time was redirected to what matters most: meaningful mentoring and modeling of best practices with aspiring teachers.

    With AI handling routine analysis, faculty could consider full class sessions rather than brief segments, identifying strategic moments throughout lessons for targeted coaching. 

    The human touch remains essential, but AI amplifies its reach and impact.

    3. Scaling high-quality feedback across programs

    What began as a small experiment has grown to include nearly 800 aspiring teachers. This scalability can more quickly reduce equity issues in teacher preparation.

    Whether a teaching candidate is placed in a rural school or urban district, AI can ensure consistent access to meaningful, personalized feedback. This scalable approach helps reduce the geographic disparities that often plague teacher development programs.

    Although AI output must be checked so that any potential biases that come through from the underlying datasets can be removed, AI tools also show promise for reducing bias when used thoughtfully. For example, AI can provide concrete analysis of classroom dynamics based on observable actions such as talk time, wait time, and types of questions asked. While human review and interpretation remains essential–to spot check for AI hallucinations or other inaccuracies and interpret patterns in context–purpose-built tools with appropriate guardrails can help deliver more equitable support.

    4. Helping teachers recognize and build on their strengths

    Harvard researchers found that while AI tools excel at using supportive language to appreciate classroom projects–and recognize the work that goes into each project–students who self-reported high levels of stress or low levels of enjoyment said the feedback was often unhelpful or insensitive. We must be thoughtful and intentional about the AI-powered feedback we share with students.

    AI can also help teachers see what they themselves are doing well, which is something many educators struggle with. This strength-based approach builds confidence and resilience. As one TeachFX pilot participant noted, “I was surprised at the focus on my strengths as well and how to improve on them. I think it did a good job of getting good details on my conversation and the intent behind it. ”

    I often tell new teachers: “You’ll never see me teach a perfect lesson because perfect lessons don’t exist. I strive to improve each time I teach, and those incremental gains add up for students.” AI helps teachers embrace this growth mindset by making improvement tangible and achievable.

    The moment is now

    The current teacher shortage is a crisis, but it’s also an opportunity to reimagine how we support teachers.

    Every student deserves a teacher who knows how to meaningfully engage them. And every teacher deserves timely, actionable feedback.  The moment to shape AI’s role in teacher preparation is now. Let’s leverage these tools to help develop confident, effective teachers who will inspire the next generation of learners.

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  • 7 new and engaging virtual field trips

    7 new and engaging virtual field trips

    Key points:

    Virtual field trips have emerged as an engaging resource, offering students immersive experiences and allowing them to explore global landmarks, museums, and natural wonders without leaving their classrooms.​

    Virtual field trips connect students to places that, due to funding, geography, or other logistical challenges, they may not otherwise have a chance to visit or experience.

    These trips promote active engagement, critical thinking, and cater to diverse learning styles. For instance, students can virtually visit the Great Wall of China or delve into the depths of the ocean, fostering a deeper understanding of subjects ranging from history to science.

    If you’re looking for a new virtual field trip to bring to your classroom, here are a few to investigate:

    Giant Panda Cam at the Smithsonian National Zoo: Watch Bao Li and Qing Bao–the two new Giant Pandas at Smithsonian’s National Zoo–as they explore their indoor and outdoor habitats at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat. The Giant Panda Cam is live from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET daily. After 7 p.m., the cam feed will switch to a pre-recorded view of the last 12 hours.  

    The Superpower of Story: A Virtual Field Trip to Warner Bros. Studios: Students will go behind the scenes on an exclusive virtual field trip to DC Comics headquarters at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California!.They’ll step into the world of legendary superheroes and blockbuster films, uncovering the secrets of how stories evolve from bold ideas to iconic comics to jaw-dropping live-action spectacles on the big screen. Along the way, they’ll hear from the creative minds who shape the DC Universe and get an insider’s look at the magic that brings their favorite characters to life.

    Mount Vernon: Students can enter different buildings and click on highlighted items or areas for explanations about their significance or what they were used for.

    Arctic Adventures: Polar Bears at Play Virtual Field Trip: Do polar bears play? The LEGO Group’s sustainability team, Polar Bears International, and Discovery Education travel to Churchill Manitoba and the Polar Frontier habitat at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in search of polar bears at play. Students will meet polar bears and play experts and uncover how arctic animals use play to learn just like humans, while inspiring students to use their voice to change their planet for the better.

    The Manhattan Project: Join The National WWII Museum for a cross-country virtual expedition to discover the science, sites, and stories of the creation of the atomic bomb. Student reporters examine the revolutionary science of nuclear energy in the Museum’s exhibits and the race to produce an atomic weapon in complete secrecy. 

    The Anne Frank House in VR: Explore the hiding place of Anne Frank and her family in virtual reality using the Anne Frank House VR app. The app provides a very special view into the Secret Annex where Anne Frank and the seven other people hid during WWII. In the VR app, all of the rooms in the Secret Annex are furnished according to how it was when occupied by the group in hiding, between 1942 and 1944. 

    Night Navigators: Build for Bats Virtual Field Trip: Join Discovery Education, the LEGO Group’s Social Responsibility Team, and Bat Conservation International as we travel across Texas and Florida in search of bat habitats. Students will meet play experts as they explore how these nighttime pollinators use play to learn and discover the critical role of bats in protecting farmers’ crops from pests and what we can do to help bats thrive.

    Laura Ascione
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