---
title: Four elements of an educational video
description: Educational videos are designed differently from standard videos on YouTube. Here are 4 elements of an educational video that support more engaged learning.
image: https://www.boclips.com/hubfs/Classroom%20laptops.jpg
---

<https://www.boclips.com?hsLang=en>

- Our approach
- [Products](https://www.boclips.com/products)
- Solutions
- Company
- Resources
- [Login](https://app.boclips.com/)
- - [Arabic](https://www.boclips.com/ar/)
    - [English](https://www.boclips.com)
- [Start a Free Trial](https://www.boclips.com/contact)

### © Boclips 2025

## World-class educational video content, curated by educators. 

[Content Curation The best content in the world, curated by teachers We find the best educational content from the best creators around the globe, and compile it into collections and packages tailored to your needs.](https://www.boclips.com/content-curation?hsLang=en)

[Content Alignment Standards- and curriculum-aligned Everything we publish meets educational standards and aligns with Bloom’s Taxonomy to help support your learning objectives.](https://www.boclips.com/content-alignment?hsLang=en)

[Content Organization Easy-to-find, relevant, localised All our content is tagged by age level, subject area, pedagogical application, and more so that it’s easy to find relevant content that engages your audience.](https://www.boclips.com/content-organization?hsLang=en)

[Integration & Delivery Distraction-free experiences Integrate with our libraries for instant access, display content without ads or distractions, and get deep insights on content engagement.](https://www.boclips.com/api-and-lti-integrations?hsLang=en)

[Licensing & Rights Fully licensed and rights-cleared We secure and manage the rights to all our content, so you can go ahead and use it without worrying about licensing.](https://www.boclips.com/licensing-rights?hsLang=en)

## We believe that every student should be captivated by their learning.

[![Boclips Classroom](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(2)-3.png?width=390&height=223&name=Untitled%20design%20(2)-3.png) Boclips Classroom Share Ed-Ready, curriculum-aligned videos directly with students through LMS, Google Classroom, and links.](https://www.boclips.com/classroom?hsLang=en)

[![Boclips Library](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/library%20nav@3x.png?width=400&height=229&name=library%20nav@3x.png) Boclips Library Boclips Library helps education providers access the best video content in the world, hassle-free.](https://www.boclips.com/library?hsLang=en)

[![Boclips Integrate](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/integrate%20nav@3x.png?width=400&height=229&name=integrate%20nav@3x.png) Boclips Integrate Enrich your platform with eye-opening educational experiences.](https://www.boclips.com/integrate?hsLang=en)

[![Boclips highlights](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Copy%20of%20Untitled%20Design%20(1).png?width=1152&height=660&name=Copy%20of%20Untitled%20Design%20(1).png) AI Video Highlights Chat with our bot to see how AI recommended video highlights can enhance your AI tutors and edtech applications.](https://www.boclips.com/highlights?hsLang=en)

## Access the world's largest library of Ed-Ready video — how you need it, when you need it.

[Publishers and Curriculum Developers Built for curriculum and instructional design teams, Boclips Library makes it easy to discover, license, and deliver the world’s best educational videos from premier brands in your courseware or digital learning materials, all from a single source.](https://www.boclips.com/library?hsLang=en)

[EdTechs and Developers Built for EdTechs and Innovators, Boclips Integrate strengthens your value proposition and enriches your platform with access to 2.2 million Ed-Ready videos from 650+ of the world’s best educational content creators. ](https://www.boclips.com/integrate?hsLang=en)

[Teachers, Schools and Districts Built for teachers to use in the classroom, Boclips provides a safe YouTube alternative that brings the power of educational video directly to your learners with teacher-friendly educational filters, curriculum alignments, and distraction-free sharing. ](https://www.boclips.com/teachers?hsLang=en)

[AI for Education Enhance AI Tutors and AI-powered applications with safe, curated educational videos. Chat with our bot and see how AI-recommended video highlights can surface the right moment of the video to safeguard your AI Tutor against hallucination, make your edtech application multimodal, or create efficiencies for educators with AI video recommendations.](https://www.boclips.com/highlights?hsLang=en)

## We believe that every student can be captivated by their learning.

## We find and curate the world’s best educational audio and video content, and make it accessible simply, seamlessly and safely.

[About us Learn more about our mission, our story and what we do.](https://www.boclips.com/about-us?hsLang=en)

[Blog Browse opinions, toolkits and news from the Boclips team.](https://www.boclips.com/blog)

[Working at Boclips Find out what it’s like to work with us, and see open positions.](https://www.boclips.com?hsLang=en)

[Press & events We’ve been making headlines since 2014. Explore events and the news archive.](https://www.boclips.com/press?hsLang=en)

[Blog Browse opinions, toolkits and news from the Boclips team.](https://www.boclips.com/blog)

[Resources Discover upcoming and past webinars, video learning guides, and more.](https://www.boclips.com/resources?hsLang=en)

[Collections Preview a curated selection of videos from our world-class library.](https://www.boclips.com/curated-collections?hsLang=en)

 May 31, 2024

# Four elements of an educational video

<https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.boclips.com/blog/four-elements-of-an-educational-video,'popup','width=657,height=400'\);>

![](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Classroom%20laptops.jpg?width=352&name=Classroom%20laptops.jpg)

 

Video is a key digital tool in classrooms with more than 97% of staff saying video is essential to the student experience ([Kaltura, 2022](https://corp.kaltura.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2022-state-of-video-in-education-kaltura.pdf)). Educational videos support accessibility and short videos engage students as much as 24% more than long videos ([Zhu, 2022](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9510322/)). 

 

But educational videos are strategically designed to support learning objectives and engage students to keep them focused on the lesson. Not all videos that discuss learning material are educational or optimized for student use. Educational videos have unique criteria.

 

**Educate vs Entertain**

The first thing to consider when comparing educational videos to other video content is the mission or goal of the video. Generally speaking, non-educational videos found online on platforms like YouTube start with the goal of entertaining to hook attention and keep users engaging with the content or channel. These conventional videos do not prioritize informational accuracy but instead prioritize engagement with and emotional connection to the audience. Educational videos set out to inform their audience and support a curriculum of instruction. They are structured to segment material into key themes that align with various learning outcomes.

These videos seek to explain, illustrate, summarise, and synthesize. While educational videos can be entertaining while they inform, the entertainment value will never exceed the educational value. 

 

**Provenance and factual sources**

With misinformation and disinformation recognized as a global threat, understanding where information originated is important. That’s information provenance: the tracing of the path any piece of information takes across the internet to its audience. Platforms like YouTube lack provenance verification tools, which leaves them wide open to inauthentic content like deep fakes, fake news, and conspiracy theories. Educational videos should be guaranteed to be from reliable sources to ensure that the information communicated is verified and trustworthy. They should only share content that is based on facts that represent the collected knowledge of scholars and experts in their respective fields.

 

**Alignment vs Disjointment **

Educators usually have to search the internet to find the right video to support their lesson. This typically leads them to places like YouTube where the content is plentiful, but unmoderated and unorganized. There’s no tagging system for different pedagogies, educational methods, and curricula, let alone things like subject, language, or creator. This leaves educators in a predicament because searching within this framework can be time-consuming, which is a heavy cost for a video that may or may not align with the educator’s needs. Educational videos are created in alignment with a variety of pedagogies and curricula and, when paired with a methodical tagging system, can be found quickly and with minimal fuss. 

 

**Ed-Ready vs Average**

The average video content found on the internet is made with entertainment or editorial intentions that reflect the viewpoint of its creator(s). Its information provenance is not typically traced, and it’s often hosted on platforms that don’t tag its videos so that it can be sorted by curriculum, pedagogy, or subject. Platforms like YouTube are also cluttered with ads, next-up playlists, and comment sections that can distract learners and potentially expose them to inappropriate content. 

 

More resources about video for educational use: 

- [YouTube alternative sites for classrooms](https://www.boclips.com/blog/4-youtube-alternatives-for-schools?hsLang=en)

- [Why YouTube is dangerous for student use](https://www.boclips.com/blog/disinformation-is-a-global-threat?hsLang=en)

- [Efficacy of video for student engagement](https://www.boclips.com/blog/short-educational-videos-create-learning-gains-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

- [Disinformation as a global threat ](https://www.boclips.com/blog/the-dangers-of-using-youtube-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

 

Learn more about educational video designed for [teachers and classrooms](http://boclips.com/classroom). 

[![Boclips_Email Header_Ed-Ready Video-2](https://www.boclips.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Boclips_Email%20Header_Ed-Ready%20Video-2.png?width=2500&height=834&name=Boclips_Email%20Header_Ed-Ready%20Video-2.png)](https://www.boclips.com/classroom?hsLang=en)

 

![blog_post_author_default](https://www.boclips.com/hubfs/Boclips%202023%20assets/logo-icon.svg)

#### [Boclips](https://www.boclips.com/blog/author/boclips)

Boclips is on a mission to make learning more captivating with video with an easier, safer way to access videos from the world’s leading video producers.

Connect

<https://www.facebook.com/boclips/> <https://www.boclips.com/blog/www.instagram.com/boclipsedu?hsLang=en> <https://twitter.com/Boclips>

Topics

- [#Classroom](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/classroom?hsLang=en)
- [#Video in Digital Learning](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/video-in-digital-learning?hsLang=en)
- [#Educational Videos](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/educational-videos?hsLang=en)
- [#Tips for Using Video](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/tips-for-using-video?hsLang=en)
- [#Video Content Partners](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/video-content-partners?hsLang=en)
- [#Boclips for Publishers](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/boclips-for-publishers?hsLang=en)
- [#Issues in Education](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/issues-in-education?hsLang=en)
- [#Educational Videos by Subject Area](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/teaching-subject-areas?hsLang=en)
- [#News and Announcements](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/news-and-announcements?hsLang=en)
- [#Events & Holidays](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/events-holidays?hsLang=en)
- [#Video and Teaching Tools](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/video-and-teaching-tools?hsLang=en)
- [#Teaching Methodologies](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/teaching-methodologies?hsLang=en)
- [#Education Videos](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/education-videos?hsLang=en)
- [#Video and Digital Literacy](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/video-and-digital-literacy?hsLang=en)
- [#Short Educational Videos](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/short-educational-videos?hsLang=en)
- [#Instructional Design](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/instructional-design?hsLang=en)
- [#Multimodal Learning](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/multimodal-learning?hsLang=en)
- [#Video and Student Safety](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/video-and-student-safety?hsLang=en)
- [#Accessibility in Education](https://www.boclips.com/blog/topic/accessibility-in-education?hsLang=en)

## Latest insights

 See all insights

 See all

[![](https://www.boclips.com/hubfs/Vietnam%20War%20vid%20History360.png)](https://www.boclips.com/blog/how-to-use-archival-footage-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

[How to Use Archival Footage in the Classroom](https://www.boclips.com/blog/how-to-use-archival-footage-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

The growth of video and audio technology over the last hundred years has provided us with a rich ...

[Learn More](https://www.boclips.com/blog/how-to-use-archival-footage-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

[![paper snowflakes activity](https://www.boclips.com/hubfs/PaperSnowflakes%20activity.jpg)](https://www.boclips.com/blog/videos-for-teaching-educational-fall-and-winter-holiday-stories-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

[Videos for Teaching Educational Fall and Winter Holiday Stories in the Classroom](https://www.boclips.com/blog/videos-for-teaching-educational-fall-and-winter-holiday-stories-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

Holidays are a fun and festive time in the classroom, offering a valuable break from the usual ...

[Learn More](https://www.boclips.com/blog/videos-for-teaching-educational-fall-and-winter-holiday-stories-in-the-classroom?hsLang=en)

[![Image endangered African Bush Elephant adult with calf](https://www.boclips.com/hubfs/African_Bush_Elephants-1.jpg)](https://www.boclips.com/blog/learning-about-endangered-species?hsLang=en)

[Learning About Endangered Species](https://www.boclips.com/blog/learning-about-endangered-species?hsLang=en)

What are Endangered Species? Thousands of plants and animals around the world are considered to be ...

[Learn More](https://www.boclips.com/blog/learning-about-endangered-species?hsLang=en)

 Request a demo

<https://www.boclips.com?hsLang=en>

### US: 68 Harrison Ave Ste 605 PMB 71632, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA UK: 3rd Floor, 1 Ashley Road, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 2DT, United Kingdom

[+44 (0)20-7183-4257](tel:++44%20(0)20-7183-4257)

[support@boclips.com](mailto:support@boclips.com)

<https://www.facebook.com/boclips/> <https://twitter.com/boclips> <https://www.instagram.com/boclipsedu> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/boclips/>

### Our approach

- [The best content in the world](https://www.boclips.com/content-curation)
- [Easy-to-find, relevant, localised](https://www.boclips.com/content-organization)
- [Fully licensed and rights-cleared](https://www.boclips.com/licensing-rights)
- [Standard- and curriculum-aligned](https://www.boclips.com/content-alignment)
- [Seamless integration and delivery](https://www.boclips.com/api-and-lti-integrations)

### Products

- [Library](https://www.boclips.com/library)
- [Integrate](https://www.boclips.com/integrate)
- [Classroom](https://www.boclips.com/classroom)

### Content Partners

- [Boclips for creators](https://www.boclips.com/creators)

### Company

- [About us](https://www.boclips.com/about-us)
- [Insights](https://www.boclips.com/blog)
- [Press](https://www.boclips.com/press)

### © 2024 Knowledge Motion, Inc

[AI Policy](https://www.boclips.com/ai-policy?hsLang=en)

[Accessibility](https://www.boclips.com/accessibility-statement?hsLang=en)

[Editing](https://www.boclips.com/editing-policy?hsLang=en)

[Systems Status](https://boclips.statuspage.io/)

[Terms & Conditions - Boclips Library and Integrate](http://boclips.com/mlsa)

[Terms & Conditions - Boclips Classroom](http://boclips.com/mlsa-classroom)

[Privacy & Cookies](https://www.boclips.com/privacy-policy?hsLang=en)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://stream.mux.com/qMhS23h02uTzCcgiOVcWAYe00AaW01xI7LNsRY5rzmrioo/capped-1080p.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2025-05-09T17:17:17.153Z",
  "duration" : "PT33S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Endangered species_FuseSchol_blog clip",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://4854096.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4854096/Endangered%20species_FuseSchol_blog%20clip.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1746811037153",
  "uploadDate" : "2025-05-09T17:16:29.056Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://stream.mux.com/uRnxy2WxSuyki9rUttypacyRw2iR7Q9CBclaSwOTXDM/capped-1080p.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2025-05-09T17:21:21.114Z",
  "duration" : "PT18S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Endangered Species_Business Prof_blog clip",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://4854096.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4854096/Endangered%20Species_Business%20Prof_blog%20clip.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1746811281114",
  "uploadDate" : "2025-05-09T17:16:23.336Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://stream.mux.com/6GEp01pS00c9tPtUc1Mn00lJS2KWOhCwZW5PUc3my2Bsgk/capped-1080p.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2025-05-09T17:22:19.107Z",
  "duration" : "PT50S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Endangered Species_Brave Wilderness_blog clip",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://4854096.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4854096/Endangered%20Species_Brave%20Wilderness_blog%20clip.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1746811339107",
  "uploadDate" : "2025-05-09T17:16:51.799Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://stream.mux.com/bNrT4VvnCe3zOWi8ALfNmeNj802ZPZy02vLQzOSs1S8gM/capped-1080p.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2025-05-09T17:22:53.648Z",
  "duration" : "PT36S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Endangered Species_Knowledge_blog clip",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://4854096.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4854096/Endangered%20Species_Knowledge_blog%20clip.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1746811373648",
  "uploadDate" : "2025-05-09T17:16:45.061Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://stream.mux.com/kAqiOafI3ewYipqdx9vPc01gVt00cc00Q7n2t1yh2wekU4/capped-1080p.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2025-05-09T17:26:09.079Z",
  "duration" : "PT49S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Endangered Species_Overview_blog clip",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://4854096.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4854096/Endangered%20Species_Overview_blog%20clip.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1746811569079",
  "uploadDate" : "2025-05-09T17:16:51.233Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```