This week, we looked at Screencasting through Screencastify and H5P, which can be used together to create interactive videos. Interactive video is a great way for us, as teachers, to keep students engaged with the material they are learning in a way that is both interesting and helpful to their memorization. Screencasting works well with dual coding theory, which states that students learn best when combining audio and visual elements, such as a video and a voice recording.

Last week, we began to look at screencasting and were asked to include a screencast video in our inquiry projects. I included a time-lapse video rather than a screencast. However, they are very similar as they both include audio elements over a video. Additionally, I have used the Screencastify Chrome plugin before, so I was at least familiar with it.

Below is an example of a time-lapse video, from my inquiry project last week:

H5P was a new concept to me. It is a website which allows people to create and use HTML 5 content and applications (interactive content). This is a great tool, especially for educators. I love that H5P allows us to add interactive elements to these videos, such as a quick multiple choice question in the video. These elements further drive up engagement in the videos so that the dual coding process can take affect and strengthen learning and comprehension. If there are interactive pop-ups throughout the videos, students are going to be more engaged, waiting for the prompt, but it also means that they are paying closer attention to the material so that when the prompt comes up they know the answers.

As a Social Studies or English teacher, I find this tool extremely useful. If I use the tool for a grammar lesson, I could include a multiple-choice prompt asking students which sentence is grammatically correct. Or, in a Social Studies class, I could include a question to ask students what they think about a historical event or what they think was the most impactful outcome of, for example, the black plague. Another example is the timeline tool, which would be amazing in highlighting story progression in an English class or creating a historical timeline in Social Studies.

H5P has many other options as well for useful interactive tools as well that I believe would be amazing in a classroom across various subjects. I’d love to see what others in the class found to be the most interesting application!