• Sparking interest in a new subject area.  Imaginative and quick-paced video can inspire your students to pursue a subject.
• Demonstrating something that you can't illustrate any other way, such as 3-D geometry, the sounds and sights of a rain forest, historical re-enactments of ancient cultures or a chemistry experiment that is to dangerous to do in the classroom.
• Enriching content by demonstrating new applications or insights.
• Practice a skill such as note taking, problem solving, predicting, listening, etc.
• Reviewing a lesson you have already presented so the students can hear and see in a different light.

If you decide that video is the right tool for you, check out the steps below to help you engage your students in the most meaningful activities:

1. PREVIEW each program carefully to determine its suitability for the lesson's objectives and students' learning outcomes.  We encourage you to use tapes rather than to try to incorporate a real time broadcast into the lesson.

2. SELECT A SEGMENT targeted to your lesson objectives. It is often unnecessary and time-consuming to screen a program in its entirety. When previewing a program, look for segments particularly relevant or useful to the lesson or activity planned. Often a program has a great deal of information that cannot be digested at once; in that event it is useful to show the program in segments so that its content can be more easily understood.

3. PROVIDE A FOCUS for viewing so that  students have specific responsibilities while watching the tape. Introduce the tape segments with a question, things to look for, unfamiliar vocabulary, or an activity that will make the program's content more clear or meaningful. Be sure and follow up with the specified task(s) or question(s) after viewing.

4. CONDUCT PRE- OR POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES to ensure that the experience is an interactive one.. Integrate the video into the overall learning experience by adding an experiential, hands-on component to the lesson. Activities can be done prior to viewing to set the stage, review, provide background information, identify new vocabulary words, or introduce the topic. Activities can be done after viewing to reinforce, apply, or extend the information conveyed by the program. Often the video can serve as an introduction or motivator for the hands-on activity to come. Again, relevance is key. Activities should be tied directly to the lesson's goals; in this way, all the lesson's components - the video, discussion, activities - are tied to lesson objectives.

5. USE THE  PAUSE BUTTON while viewing to check student comprehension, ask questions, have students record information, make predictions, examine a chart, formula, or image on the screen more closely, or to have students draw a diagram. It's important to make the viewing as interactive as possible. You can help to engage the students by keeping the lights on while they are watching!