Being able to watch a video in class instantly brings an element of excitement for students. We can easily remember that feeling from when we were students ourselves. That moment of anticipation when you see a video cued up on the screen (or for some of us, the TV cart rolled up outside the classroom) is a fond childhood memory for many of us. While videos tend to get students excited about the day’s lesson, there can be some unfortunate side effects of watching videos. Some students sit, lost in the content, doodling in their notebooks. Others have weighted eyelids that seem to droop the moment the lights are dimmed. How can we make the most of this powerful educational tool while maintaining student engagement? By making our video content interactive for students! Interactive videos can help focus students on the video content in front of them and provide you with valuable information about their understanding of the material. Let’s dive into three of our favorite web-based platforms for making interactive videos:

1. Playposit
   This website is focused solely on the creation of interactive videos. Teachers create what are called “Bulbs”, and can use their own video content or search and select from a variety of integrated sources such as YouTube, Vimeo, 3C Media, and Canvas Studio. With a Pro plan, you can even record videos directly on PlayPosit. Videos can be customized with captions, trimmed, and cropped to meet your needs. From there, choose from a variety of premade templates that automatically place interactions at intervals throughout the video, or add your own. One of the best features of PlayPosit is the robust content you can add to your videos. There are several more options to choose from than on the other platforms on our list. Teachers can add polls, discussions, free response, fill in the blanks, and multiple choice questions. Furthermore, teachers can check all questions, pauses, embedded website links, and vocabulary matching. The community feature also allows you to browse and choose premade Bulbs. To assign videos, create your classes on PlayPosit, invite students, and push out the content via whatever method makes the most sense for you and your students. When students are finished, export the data to see how they did!

2. Edpuzzle
   Edpuzzle is a great platform to get started with if you have never created interactive video content before. Everything you need is on one page and is easy to navigate. You can add your own video content from your computer or Google Drive. Edpuzzle even has a free Chrome extension, which allows you to record your own screencast and webcam based videos directly to their platform. Edpuzzle also works with YouTube so you can copy and paste video links or use the built-in search feature. You can customize videos by cutting their length or adding a voiceover to user created videos. Then, add multiple choice questions, open ended questions, or video pauses with notes throughout the video to make them interactive for your students. One of the great things about Edpuzzle is you can manually add classes or import classes from a variety of learning management systems including Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard, and more. Your videos can be assigned and automatically posted to your associated LMS; however, any feedback given to students on their submission appears in Edpuzzle.

3. Nearpod
   Nearpod is a popular website for creating interactive slide deck lessons and quick activities. The interactive videos you can create on this platform are able to be combined with other content to create dynamic lessons without ever having to leave the Nearpod platform. You are able to create and push out just video content as well, if you do not want to utilize the other content or activities. Just like with the other platforms mentioned, teachers can upload their own videos, select from the Nearpod Library, or use the integrated YouTube search to find videos. Once a video has been selected, you can trim the length to meet your needs and add interactivity in the form of open-ended or multiple choice questions. Students do not need a Nearpod account to access the videos and instead join via a unique lesson code. Choose from a live lesson format, where students can view the video on the teacher’s device and then answer the questions as they appear on their own device, or have students complete the interactive video at their own pace on their own device. When the lesson is over, generate and view reports to see how students understood the material

There are so many options for making video lesson content interactive and meaningful for students. If you haven’t tried our favorites, give them a go and see what they can do for your classroom. What are your favorite ways to make video content purposeful and interactive in your classroom? Leave us a comment below to join the conversation!

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more articles on the Teq Talk blog.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and remote learning support for educators with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology, tools, and strategies that can spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening.