Week 12: Digital Media and Film in the Classroom

            Who doesn’t love watching videos? From YouTube to movie theaters to streaming services, humanity has found an endless number of ways to entertain themselves with digital media. Not only are these examples of digital media entertaining, but they're also very useful when it comes to education. Here are a few examples of how digital media can be incorporated into the English classroom:

YouTube

Anyone who has moved through the public school system in the past two decades will be familiar with the way that YouTube has made a name for itself in the world of education. It has proved to be a quick source of reference for educators and students to learn about any number of topics and skills in a short-form and extended fashion. It has also been a valuable resource of academic resources that may have been inaccessible to the average educator. For students, it also provides the opportunity to research more about the texts and authors they interact with and grow their understanding through audio and visual formats.

Podcasts

While one may not immediately think of podcasts as being a form of digital media, their growing popularity has grown their interest in the educational space. When anyone is able to make a podcast about any topic, podcasts have become a valuable source of information for educators and students alike. As such, being able to use it in the classroom can be an interesting way to shape the school day and engage students who may be better auditory learners. In the English classroom, this can look like a historical podcast for context, a literary review podcast for added analysis, or narrative podcasts/audiobooks that make the story come alive to the student.

Film/TV

Beyond the movies and TV shows one may think of as being purely entertaining lies a whole world of film that is focused on the union of entertainment and education. When it comes to an English class in particular, educators can utilize historical documentaries, book-to-film adaptations, and theatrical performances to enhance their students’ understanding of the text that they may be studying. This is especially true for students who may be visual learners as it provides them an outlet to understand the text in a way that they may not have before. They are also more accessible than ever due to the rise of streaming services, making it a win-win for both students and teachers.