Repeated studies have shown that quality educational videos of appropriate lengths are one of the most effective and universally accessible uses of technology in any classroom.

If you listen close enough, you just might hear a sonnet on the spring breeze. That’s right, it’s National Poetry Month! An epic celebration of verse, rhyme, and wordplay is here to take over our social media feeds and our classrooms. At Boclips for Teachers, we’re here to help you make the most of this month with lesson guides and video collections ready for your classroom.

Thousands of teachers are making the shift to online digital learning virtually overnight. This is a tricky situation as not all school districts have the same academic expectations about what the remainder of the year should look like, and not all students have equal access to technology at home. 

If you're like most teachers, you're already using some kind of video platform to share videos with students. Whether you're using a free video streaming site like YouTube, an all-in-one paid education site that includes videos, or a more streamlined solution like Boclips for Teachers that puts videos front and center in a curated way, you know that sharing videos with your students is a great way to meet them where they are.

No two virtual learning environments are the same, but whatever tools or systems teachers rely on to structure their course there is always a need for incorporating media in new ways. As more classrooms take on a digital space or go fully virtual, a variety of approaches in presenting media—especially video—can help keep the classroom feeling fresh, interactive, and dynamic.

Students today access a variety of media as part of their daily lives, and thanks to the ubiquitous use of such sites as Google and various social media outlets, information is constantly at their fingertips. As teachers, we face a challenge - how do we engage the students who sit in our classrooms and are used to instant access to information, without sacrificing quality instruction?

The latter decade of the 20th century saw a major shift in K-12 and higher education from one-size-fits-all instruction to more individualized teaching and learning. A large part of this shift was the development of a blended learning approach that integrates modern technology usage into the classroom, giving students access to a more level playing field in terms of how they are able to access information.

It’s no wonder video streaming platforms have become the most used digital tool in classrooms today. [1] Educational videos are one of the most straightforward and accessible ways to incorporate media technology in support of classroom instruction. They function across multiple platforms and are easily accessible for almost any level of student. They lend themselves to a wide variety of academic applications limited only by the creativity of the instructor. They can be cross-curricular, bi-modal, horizontally aligned, or state standards specific. Also, some of them have music and cute cartoon characters.

Differentiation is at the forefront of every teacher’s mind. Each student is different and needs to be given the opportunity to learn in ways that work for them. Plus, many schools and districts require proof of differentiated instruction. This can seem like a huge task for teachers but it doesn’t have to be. 

If a teacher has a good idea of students’ personal interests, learning goals, and strengths, differentiating instruction can be straightforward. With the addition of digital resources, including video, adapting teaching to individual learners’ needs can often be achieved with no additional planning.

In this post, we will share some quick tips for differentiating the learning process with video. Earlier this month, we wrote about how to differentiate learning content: you can find that post here.

March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate, we’re helping you to bring women’s history to life across the curriculum. From women in art to female mathematicians and beyond, we’ve collected the best videos to inspire your learners, many with original interviews and footage. This is an empowering way to present women’s history because it challenges traditional third-person, masculine perspectives. While this is especially important for social studies teachers, no subject can be taught without considering its history and how it will develop in the future. Find out how women are key protagonists in the history of art, science, literature, and business, and how the fight for equality is still ongoing.