Video has never been so accessible as a teaching tool, and today’s students are more technologically literate than ever. Rather than creating instructional videos for your students, why not try having them create their own? They’ll not only learn the course material you’re teaching, but also valuable public speaking, recording and editing skills that will benefit them both in and out of school. To help you get inspired, we rounded up seven creative videos students can create with ScreenPal.
1. Have students create newscasts
You can encourage students to stay up-to-date on current affairs by having them create their own newscasts.
Aim a webcam at a desk, and have each student record their own segment on a different world news topic. Using a webcam will allow them to see themselves as they record, which may help them get more comfortable with the idea of being on screen.
You can use ScreenPal’s green screen feature to remove the background of their video. They can replace it with a ‘news’ background. They can also use the green screen to showcase the weather. A fun weather forecast is engaging for students to create.
Recording newscasts is a fun way to summarize what’s happening in the world, and it provides an opportunity for your class to have a deeper discussion about issues they might not otherwise hear about.
P.S. Our Chrome extension even has a ‘Breaking News’ special effect that would be perfect for this activity!
2. Travel the world without leaving school
Students don’t have to wait for spring break to see the world. With the right creative video project, you can connect students to the world around them right from your own classroom.
Assign each student a country, and instruct them to create a video showing fun facts, photos, and video clips that highlight the region’s culture and background. They can compile all of their media into the a ScreenPal Story to create an engaging video project.
They can use the green screen to travel through Google Maps and discover cities along the way, including those in their videos as well. Students will gain new insights into diverse cultures, geography, and history.
3. Interview students from far-away schools
Partnerships with other schools around the country or even across the globe can substantially broaden students’ worldview, and maybe even result in some new friends along the way.
Students can use a webcam to interview each other about their perspectives on school, culture, current events, and more. This is a fun and social way for students to explore the world outside their home
country.
Create a collaborative presentation using a slide tool like Google Slides. Put a question on each slide for students to answer. Students can insert a comment and use ScreenPal’s Chrome extension to record their video response. This will allow students in different time zones to collaborate asynchronously during this partnership.
4. Video presentations of projects
For your students’ next presentation, why not have them make a video instead of a poster or slideshow?
Your students will get practice talking on camera, and they’ll appreciate the chance to go back and re-record if they make a mistake while recording.
They could record their presentations with a screen recorder, allowing them to record images, slides, or even video clips directly from their screens.
Video also makes it easier to keep up the pace if you’re trying to get through a lot of projects in a short time. Just limit students to a certain number of minutes per video.
P.S. Students can import their slide presentations into ScreenPal Stories and add webcam recordings to each slide. Easy as 1-2-3!
5. How-to videos
One of the best ways to get students connected with a topic is to have them teach it to someone else. Kids and teens enjoy showing people how things work— especially if technology is involved. Use this to
your advantage by having students create how-to videos explaining how something works, or what they learned about an assigned topic.
You could have students pick an app, website, or other online process, and create a screencast illustrating how to use it. You’ll find students engaged with the project, and you may even learn a thing or two in the process.
6. Book reviews with a trailer
Instead of writing a book report, consider asking your students to create their own “movie trailers” about what they’ve read. This is an opportunity for students to get really creative.
They can make previews of big plot points, and even add voiceover narration with ScreenPal’s Video Editor.
7. Research projects
Liven up a research assignment with a creative video. This project could either supplement or replace a written report.
For example, students could create a video about herbivores for a biology class. They could record a screencast that uses photos and video clips to illustrate how herbivores live and function. Videos like these can help students better digest complex topics.
Have a creative video or tip you want to share?
ScreenPal loves to hear from educators around the world. We know there are creative teachers out there and we invite you to share your video or tip to the rest of the community!
Show us a video your class put together or share a tip you’ve used to get students engaged! We’d love to hear your stories.
Share your story or video with our community team. Click here to share your story!
