With distance learning this spring, you may have been thrown into the world of making teaching videos for your students. In this blog post, I’ll detail the how of creating videos, as well as some time-saving tips, so that you don’t feel like you have to constantly get your camera and props out!
How do I create videos?
Very few of us have actually had training on how to create videos…so what is the process?
First, you don’t need anything fancy. You can make a teaching video simply with your computer’s webcam. Teach to the screen like you would with your students…but you’ll have to pause after asking questions, so that students can think about their answers!
My favorite tools for recording my screen and/or recording face-to-screen are Loom and Screencast-o-matic. Loom is a free Chrome extension, which allows you to record both you and your screen, and puts a little circle in the corner with the video of you! Here is a video tutorial for using Loom to record a lesson:
Have puppets or props? Use them to engage your students! (See this podcast episode from Music Teacher Coffee Talk for puppet ideas.) You could also buy an inexpensive green screen and stand, then use iMovie or an app such as Do Ink to add a background to the green screen.
After you’ve created the teaching videos, you can upload them into Google Drive, then insert them into Google Slides, to deliver your lesson. You could also insert into a platform such as Nearpod.
How can I save time?
Creating teaching videos can be a very time-consuming process. To help save time, I’ve used the following strategies:
Batch: Instead of visiting my recording space every single day to record a video, I like to batch my videos. What does that mean? I sit down and try to record as many videos as I can in one sitting, so that I don’t have to visit my recording space every day. Batching also allows you to get into a mindset, which in the long run will save you time, because you won’t be switching back and forth between tasks.
This summer, I plan on creating lots of teaching videos, so that I have many already created before the school year begins, and don’t have to create a bunch during the school year. You might not know your situation for this fall, but if you consider what you do know you’ll be doing, you could begin creating teaching videos now.
Three claps or silence: If you mess up while creating teaching videos, you could either clap three times or be silent for a while, then begin again. When you edit the video, if you look for the spikes in sound, or for no sound, this will help you quickly spot where you need to edit.
Re-use videos: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel each week. If you want students to sing the same song from last week’s lesson, use the same video that you used in last week’s lesson! The kids will not notice any difference, and you will save some time!
Looking to save even more time? I’ve created this bundle of lessons for ta and ti-ti, which includes teaching videos, visuals in Google Slides, audio, and more! You can use as is in Google Slides, but I’ve also included a link in each set to all of the videos, audio files, and images, so you could import into another platform, such as Nearpod, if you’d like.
Wanting even more tips for creating videos? I’ll be opening my “Tech for Music Teachers” course again in August, which includes an entire module all about recording video and audio, as well as a deep dive into tons of tech tools for the music room!
Happy creating!
2 Responses
So this course will teach us how to make those play along videos you have. For example, your St. Patrick’s Day Rhythm Read Along with the bouncing ball technique?
Hi there! My tech course doesn’t teach that skill, but I think Katie Wardrobe’s membership teaches that. Here’s a link: https://midnightmusic.com/join-membership/.
Have a great day!