Math Teacher Shares the Benefits of Using RooClick to Better Engage Students Learning via Video
By now, I’m sure you’ve either used video in your classroom yourself or know someone that has used it. And when I say video, I’m not talking about cracking out that old DVD of your favorite inspirational teacher movie, old episodes of Bill Nye, or the Biography special on Jerry Seinfeld.
You’re a 21st century teacher with 22nd century students and you’re trying your best to take advantage of technologies that are native to your students and online video is one of those technologies. Our students spend far too much time in front of a screen but if we can get them to watch for some educational purpose, we’re certainly going to do so.
To this point, there have been several issues in using online video in many classrooms. Take my class, for instance. I teach what is arguably the most unengaging subject that our students MUST take no matter where they go to school, math.
Yes, that bastion of direct instruction fans everywhere, math is the last stronghold of the “sage on the stage” mentality and is often the last place where any real innovation in teaching takes place. And let’s not talk about technology integration in math. For most math teachers, technology integration means breaking out the TI-30 or TI-84 calculators, depending on what grade you teach.
There are many reasons teachers don’t integrate tech in math class and all have their basis in a bit of truth. For one thing, math classes have to cover so much content that it is difficult to carve out time to work with students individually or differentiate in meaningful ways for those students that need extra support or extensions.
There’s also the fact that many students just have a hard time engaging in math. Some teachers feel like they have to maintain control of the class all the time to keep students focused or to at least keep the image of focus in a classroom. It’s sad but sometimes very true.
To get a math teacher to use a new tool in class, there has to be some evidence that it will increase engagement and help students achieve greater success or at least have the chance to do those things.
That’s exactly what I saw with RooClick.
What does RooClick do?
RooClick is a service that allows teachers to use pretty much any video, one that you’ve created or videos from YouTube, and add clickable content to the video. Whether the content is simply a link to a website for more information, a task for students to complete, or an embedded quiz, RooClick allows you to perform these task and much more.
Why did I start using RooClick? Here are some things I’ve been able to do in my classroom using this tool.
Meet Students Where They Are
I know which students in my class struggle on a regular basis. Every good teacher does. With RooClick, I have a tool that I can use to give them targeted help whenever I need to do so. I don’t often have time during class to spend a lot of individual time and hours before and after school are limited because we’re all so busy.
However, if a student is struggling, I can add a video to RooClick that will help support their learning. Crafted correctly, any clicks I add to the video will only enhance the learning and supports. And, as students need to, they can review the video more than once or pause the video until they are ready to move on. The power of meeting the student where they are is one of the reasons I’m using RooClick in my classroom.
Measure Engagement
I’ve used videos many time in my classroom with students. One problem I always had was knowing whether or not they were really watching the video and if the content was helping them. Sure, I could send them to a Google Form or some other quiz/survey tool when they finished the video but they could always just click the link and not watch the video.
With RooClick, you can add your students to a class and then when you assign a video, you’ll know how long they watched and how many times they clicked on the links you’ve added to the video. You won’t have to wonder any longer how many students were engaged and how much they watched.
And if you decided to use a quiz in your video, you can gauge how beneficial the content was for your students. This can be a boon for you and those students that never ask questions in class and won’t come before or after school for various reasons. They can interact with the video and you’ll see how they did long before giving them any other type of assessment, allowing you to intervene on an individual basis.
Parent Involvement
Haven’t you always wanted parents to be more involved in your class? This is especially true for math teachers because we always hear students say, “My mom said she was bad at math and she can’t help me do this work!”
My friends, those days are over. With RooClick, students can access the videos from any device, anywhere, even at home. You’ve got the perfect avenue to get parents involved by asking them to watch any video you assign with their child. They can participate, assist, and perhaps even learn something along the way.
Who knows? They might even have a little fun with their kid while they’re doing homework!
Conclusion
If you haven’t used online video in your classroom yet, RooClick provides a great platform to get you started. There are tons of videos already added that you can access and use right away with your classes.
If you have used video before, RooClick will help you make that integration more meaningful for you and your students. Add a video that you have made or one you’ve found online, add links and questions, and watch what happens. The first time we used RooClick in my classroom, the kids were hooked from the beginning. Even the ones that are rarely engaged!
In this video by “TeachFlip”, a teacher demonstrates some of the basics of using RooClick:
I’ve become a big fan of RooClick and I think you will be, too. Try it out at: http://rooclick.com/education.php!