Can Video Be An Effective Learning Tool?

When it comes to educating kids at home, video can be an overlooked tool. Many of us view TV shows, movies and YouTube videos as merely a form of entertainment. But there are many cases where these mediums can be used to teach kids new things.

In fact, there are many studies that have found video to be an effective educational tool on all subjects from history to languages. It all comes down to finding the right video and knowing how to use this video in an informative way. Below are just a few different tips for educating kids with videos.

Avoid the dated docs

When it comes to integrating video into school lessons, many schools like to rely on old documentaries. However, most of these are very dull to kids.and don’t actually inspire kids to learn much.

Educational videos need to be current and fun for information to sink in. The majority of TV shows aimed at young kids nowadays have educational value and are worth exploring, however you can also find videos designed solely with the purpose of educating at online resource sites like Learn Bright. There can be great homeschooling tools.

Use songs to teach young kids

Young kids love songs. It therefore makes sense to explore songs with an educational twist like ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, ‘Ten in the Bed’ and ‘B-I-N-G-O’.

There are many YouTube channels dedicated to publishing videos containing these types of songs. Love it or hate it, Cocomelon is one of these, and does seem to be effective at hypnotizing young kids.

There are many other lesser known songs aimed at kids that have educational value. Don’t be afraid to explore some of these – you don’t have to stick to the classics.

Turn the captions on

Captions have been found to be an incredible tool for helping kids to learn how to read words. Once kids can identify letters and sounds, they may start to read along to the subtitles on all their favorite movies and TV shows and start subliminally learning how to recognise certain words when written.

It’s worth noting that captions can be a great learning tool when learning new languages – something you don’t have to be a kid to benefit from. Watching films and TV shows from other countries and following along with the subtitles in English could help you to pick up certain words. However, the most productive way to use captions as a language learning tol is to keep the captions in a foreign language, helping to boost foreign language reading skills by identifying how to spell foreign words.

Make video learning interactive

Many of us are interactive learners. Most videos don’t ask much from us other than sitting down and watching them – however there are exceptions.

Videos that encourage kids to sing/dance along, follow craft instructions or shout answers can be great forms of interactive video. Many of these can be much more effective than regular video. You can also find ways to make regular videos interactive by asking kids to watch carefully and then hosting a quiz after based on what they have watched.