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• Education , Inspiration

15 creative video project ideas for students (and their teachers)

Fall is here. The leaves are starting to change color and teachers everywhere are asking the same question: How do I come up with video project ideas for my students?

Video has been a staple learning tool for decades. But having students create, design, and edit video projects themselves is becoming a much more common classroom activity. Video projects are a great way to help students of all ages  actively engage with subject matter  and learn from one another.

Online apps like  Biteable  make it easy for students to turn video ideas for school into a reality. Templates and easy-to-use editing tools keep the process simple and offer plenty of inspiration for student video projects.

To help teachers and students alike leverage video as an  educational tool , we’ve gathered our favorite creative video project ideas for students. Each idea comes with a ready-to-edit video template so you and your students can get started right away.

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Elementary student video project ideas

It can be tricky to keep young students interested and engaged all day long. Creating videos gives elementary students a fun, creative way to learn about anything. And student-created videos are an amazing classroom learning supplement. If a video is produced by their peers, interest will skyrocket.

1. Create a book trailer

Instead of a traditional book report, have students design a movie-style trailer that drums up excitement about a novel or a non-fiction book. Creating a book trailer gives students the opportunity to think creatively, share a story with their classmates, and reinforce their learning in a new way.

2. Give a video tour

To supplement social studies curriculum, students can create a video showing off a significant location or their favorite part of the school. If you have a field trip planned, ask students to share their experience by recording videos throughout the day and adding voice over narration.

A video tour of the school is also a great way to share the campus with new students and visitors. As a way to pass the torch before they leave for middle school, how about asking your fifth graders to collaborate on an orientation video for incoming kindergarteners?

3. Celebrate the holidays

There’s always something to celebrate, no matter what time of year it is. Have students film letters to Santa, make video Valentines for parents or grandparents, or make short educational videos about lesser known holidays. Students can even create simple, digital thank-you notes for classroom visitors or parent volunteers.

4. Recreate a moment in history

Learning about historical people and events? Have your students research and recreate major moments in history, like the story of Rosa Parks or the Oregon Trail.

Videos help students visualize and remember these important moments. It also gives students the opportunity to experiment with digital storytelling. And students will be challenged to bring each scene to life accurately.

5. Try stop-motion video

Video learning isn’t limited to literary or historical topics. Encourage students to use stop-motion or create their own slides to explain science experiments or other STEM projects. With the right footage, like Biteable’s extensive collection of clay animation footage, students won’t even need to build stop motion models. They can just focus on the presentation and storytelling in their video.

Video project ideas for middle and high school students

Video projects for high schoolers can be a little more advanced, as students should be practicing editing and narrative skills in addition to learning about new topics.

6. Create a news channel

To supplement learning in a current events class, have your students film a news broadcast covering both local and international events.

Ask students to take on certain roles in the newsroom: anchor, sports reporter, weather reporter, or entertainment correspondent. Doing a news segment helps everyone get involved and promotes teamwork.

7. Start a portfolio

Many high school students are thinking about college applications. Give them the chance to  jumpstart their applications with a portfolio video project  and showcase what makes them unique.

Art students can show off their best work and design skills. Students applying to traditional schools can answer an application question or create a video showcasing their community service and extracurriculars.

8. Promote a good cause

Rather than writing a traditional essay or report, have students create a video advocating for a cause that’s important to them. This helps students build their identity and develop persuasive skills. And students can share their  promotional video  with everyone, not just their teacher and classmates.

9. Questions for your future self

Think ahead with a video full of inspiring questions. This project is great for incoming freshmen. At the beginning of the year, have students create videos with questions for their future self or with goals for their life and career. At graduation, send the videos back to them. It’s a fun, positive way to celebrate their success throughout high school.

Higher ed video project ideas

Higher education might not seem like the place for student-made videos. But in the real world, businesses use video for all sorts of things. Video projects build plenty of resume-worthy skills that college students can take with them to the workforce.

10. Create a university promotion video

It’s easy to forget that colleges and universities are businesses, too. And they need help with promotion. A solid college or university promotion video could open opportunities for internships or college employment. Promoting something that they’re already familiar with is a great way for students to build video persuasion skills.

11. Record and edit interviews

Being able to conduct a good interview and edit it in a way that’s appropriate for the purpose of the interview is a valuable skill in multiple industries. And interviewing experts in the field is appropriate for just about any class.

12. Make a video self-assessment

Grades are important. But being able to self-assess is also an incredibly valuable way for students to incrementally improve at any skill.

Making video self-assessments gives students a more active role in the grading process and offers them a creative way to highlight the work they’ve put into a course. It also gives them a chance to make an argument for the grade they feel they deserve — a skill that easily correlates to performance reviews in their future workplace.

13. Film a job interview guide

For most people, the interview is the most nerve-wracking part of getting a job. Practicing interview questions is a great way to prepare. But most students don’t know how to prepare for a job interview.

Creating a job interview  how-to guide  is a perfect way for students to learn how to prepare for a job interview and help other students prepare at the same time.

14. Create a video presentation based on a written assignment

Written assignments are the backbone of a university education (in most disciplines, at least). However, the audience for most written assignments is limited to the professor and assistants. Creating presentation videos for their assignments gives students the opportunity to share their hard work with their fellow students, while also learning valuable video editing skills.

15. Build a video resume

For most students, the job search starts even before graduation. A video resume helps students highlight the skills they acquired and the experience they gained during college. And, given the global workforce, a  video resume is a great supplement to a paper resume, especially when applying for remote or distant positions where an in-person interview may not be an option.

Take your video project from idea to reality with Biteable

Ready to get started  making an education video project ?

Biteable has a huge  library of video templates that help students get going fast rather than struggling to start from a blank screen. Drag-and-drop editing and easy to use tools let students focus on what’s important: the project assignment and delivering a thoughtful message.

Make stunning videos with ease.

Take the struggle out of team communication.

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• No experience necessary

51 Creative Video Project Ideas for Students (With Templates)

• video project ideas

It’s always a challenge to keep students engaged during classes, especially virtual classes. One of the ways to do this are video projects. Video projects not only make for fun viewing, they also supplement learning. While creating videos with fellow students is a fun activity, it’s not always easy to come up with video project ideas.

So here we bring you some of our favorite creative video project ideas for students. We also share ready-to-use free video templates that you can plug into and start using. Stay tuned till the end and find a bonus section for students on how to make a good video project! Let’s dive in!

A. Video project ideas for elementary students B. Video project ideas for high school students C. Video project ideas for higher education students D. How to make a good video project

Bring your video project ideas to life in minutes

With 3000+ ready-to-use project video templates

A. Video project ideas for elementary students

Video projects for elementary students are mostly a way for the teachers to ensure comprehension and interest in the classroom. These can also be a good tool to make students think about different topics. Let’s check out some video project ideas for this age group:

1. Summarise a lesson

Get your students to summarise history or literature lessons on video. Have students research major figures and events in history and make videos around these concepts. This gives students the chance to learn digital storytelling as well as thoroughly research important historical figures! For example, check out this video sharing the history of television!

Use This Template

2. Share a talent video

Have students share a video performing a talent! They can share singing, dancing, painting, art, baking, playing an instrument or various such videos. This can be a fun activity where students learn more about their peers. For example, check out this music artist launch promotion video that can be used by students to promote their own music videos .

3. Create a book report video

Instead of traditional book reports, get students to create book reports or trailers for various literature projects. These can be a good way to get students curious about concepts you will be teaching them too! Check out this video book report.

4. Celebrate a holiday

Get students to create videos on their traditional or religious holidays. This is a great way to cultivate curiosity, awareness and tolerance for different ethnicities and cultures. Check out this Christmas facts video as an example.

Use This template

5. Create science experiment videos

Encourage students to create their own slides to explain science experiments and their findings. This way, students start thinking of STEM disciplines in a more analytical, hands on manner. Check out the lesson plan presentation below that can be used to document the objectives and findings of such an experiment.

B. Video project ideas for high school students

Video projects for high school students can be a little more advanced as they are in the process of growing their skills and learning more about different subjects.

1. Create a video portfolio

High school is when students start thinking about college applications. This is a great time to start making a portfolio. Teachers can give students the chance to create a portfolio video and share their unique skills and interests. For example, students interested in engineering and STEM can share their coding or science related know-how. Check out this copywriter portfolio as an example.

2. Create a news show

Students need to know current events, both for their school community and for the world around them. Having a school news show is a way to communicate with the school community of students, teachers, staff, and parents. This can be a group effort that helps students learn the value of teamwork and allocation. Check out this newsreel video you can customise to create your own weekly news show.

Use This Template 

3. Make a video tour of an important location

If students visit a place -- on a field trip, on vacation or any time -- they can share their learning experience with others by recording video of it and narrating as they go. (If they're at a museum or other such places, asking permission first is probably a good idea!) If they can't visit it, creating a video slideshow with InVideo is also an option. Get your students to share video projects on important locations as an assignment. These projects can be themed around festivals , cultural concepts and activities too. For example, check out their Halloween cross country tour slideshow.

4. Share practice records

Learning a language, cooking , music or sports require constant practise. To gauge the progress of each student, you can ask them to record themselves learning to play an instrument or speaking a new language. Students can make video projects of themselves learning or mastering a particular song, key phrases and more. For example, check out this violinist’s progress video.

5. Create an ad or a promotional video for school events 

Get students to make an advertisement or a pitch for a school event. This could include a political ad for class president election, a video resume , or an ad for the latest games or tournaments in the school. Students will need to think about the audience they are trying to reach and the length of the advertisement. For example, check out this match poster video.

6. Promote a good cause

Get students to create a video project promoting a cause they believe in. This helps them build their opinions and develop persuasive skills. Students can share this video with everyone, not just the classroom! For example, here’s a video you can customise to debunk myths around a way of life (going vegan in this case).

C. Video project ideas for higher education students

Post high school, it may seem that video projects aren’t that important. But this is the time when students are most focused on improving skills related to their career. Video projects can thus help students showcase their understanding and interest areas, especially to future employers. So let’s check out some video project ideas for these students.

1. Interview interesting people

The people around us and around the world are living history. Their experiences, information, and advice is a treasure trove waiting to be mined. Get your students to interview individuals from their interest areas or in interesting professions. They could be in-person interviews where both parties sit next to each other or they could be virtual interviews, where someone far away records responses to questions. These interviews can act as learning aids, as well as help students connect with people in their future careers. Check out this video interview on how to approach people for their life stories.

Make your own video highlighting interesting interviews by sharing quotes , testimonials, and more. Check out this testimonial video as an example you can use and customise.

2. Teach a concept via videos

Truly understanding something is the ability to teach it to others. Students can make a video where they are recording themselves completing a task on their computer screen or they can make a demonstration video like a coding class. Teachers and professors could then use these videos to help reinforce skills in your class or even flip some of your lessons. For example, check out this video tutorial on note taking apps.

3. Create a self-assessment video

Being able to assess oneself is an extremely important skill that students need to improve themselves. Self assessment empowers students to become better learners. It also allows them to take an active role in their assessment and push for a grade they feel is unfair - a direct correlation to performance reviews at the workplace! Personalise this testimonial video to create your own self assessment video.

4. Create a video presentation for a written assignment

Written assignments are a staple when it comes to college. But only professors and classmates can view these. Instead, creating a short, promotional video on a written assignment is a great way for students to share their work with more people and learn editing skills at the same time. Check out this digital marketing trends video you can use to create your own video presentations .

5. Create a video resume

For most students, the job hunt begins in college itself. A video resume helps highlight key skills as well as share the student’s personality and attitude with employers. Especially when applying to remote or distant positions, a video resume along with a normal resume provides brownie points. Check out this video resume you can use as a blueprint to create your own.

Leverage the power of video to land your dream job!

Create a PRO video resume in minutes with InVideo

6. Create a University promotion video

Universities and colleges need as much promotion as they can get. And who better than students to share their experiences and highlights. Get students to create unique videos with their best anecdotes or areas in the university. This is also a good way to get them to research interesting aspects of college life. Check out the University promotional video and make it your own.

D. BONUS: How To Make A Good Video Project

Your school video project can earn you good grades. It is also an opportunity to showcase your creativity. But how to create the perfect video without any error? Video creation may not be your forte, but you still wish to excel in school video projects, right? No worries!

If you have a school video assignment in hand but don’t know where to begin, read below to learn how to create a video project super easy and quick, without any error and fuss. Now, let’s divide your video project into 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Video topic or idea

If you are working on a school assignment, you probably have a video topic given by your teacher or professor. If you are looking for video topic ideas though, find them here .

Step 2: Plan your video assignment

Planning is super important for your videos. This is when you decide how you want to create your video. Consider whether you want to live record your video or create it online using an app or a tool. An online tool like InVideo offers you pre-created templates that might meet your requirements. This is also a super quick and easy way to make your video from scratch. The first thing you need to do is go to InVideo and login or sign up if you wish to use this tool. Next click on the “Pre Made Templates” Option and select the video dimension you want. Finally, type phrases related to your video in the search bar.

You will now see templates related to your search as you scroll below. Simply select the template you want to use and click on the “Use This Template” button to start editing!

If your video idea is to record an event , but you don’t have a DSLR, camcorder or GoPro, use your own smartphone camera for the school project.

Step 3: Prepare a video script

Now that you know how you will record your video, the next step is creating a script for your video. Here’s a step-by-step guide on script writing you can refer to. 

3 questions to ask yourself before you create your script:

- What is the objective of your video? - How long does your video need to be? - Who is the audience that will watch your video?

Step 4: Shoot your video + audio

Once your script is finalized, it’s time to shoot your video. You also need to make sure that you are recording audio to go with your video. Check out this list of equipment and how you can use it to record video and audio. 

Step 5: Edit your video

As mentioned earlier, one of the most effortless ways you can edit your video is using the free, online InVideo editor . This is simple, easy to use, and does not need you to make any downloads. Here’s how you can edit your video on InVideo.

Step 1: Log in to InVideo . Now click on the “Blank Canvas” option and select the dimension of your video. Next, click the “Make A Video” button.

Step 2: Now click on the “Upload Media” button at the left-hand corner of your screen and upload the video you shot.

Step 3: Double click your uploaded video to add it to the timeline. You will now see a pop-up that asks if you wish to trim your video. You can Trim your video or use the full version. Simply click on the “Done” button once you are finished with your trim.

Step 4: You can now use the controls on the right side of the screen to edit your video further.

Step 5: You can apply filters, create transitions between shots for a seamless flow, add subtitles, or insert a logo to give a personal touch to your school video. Just head to the left side of your screen and select the controls you wish to use.

Step 6: Once you are done with your edits, it’s time to download your video. For this click on the “Download & Share” button on the top right. Now click the “Export” video button.

Step 7: Your video will now start to render. You can download it once it’s complete. You can also directly share the video link or share it on social media using the button provided.

Wrapping up

So these were some video project ideas for students and how you can create your own videos on InVideo. If you’ve found value in this article, and are looking for more video ideas, you also want to check out this guide where we’ve put together 200+ video ideas for businesses and brands that you can take further inspiration from. 

For more quick tips and hacks on editing and creating videos, subscribe to our YouTube Channel . 

This post was written by Upasna and edited by Abhilash from Team InVideo

Let’s create superb videos

Ten Engaging Video Assignments to Get Your Students Talking

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In the classroom, video means instant engagement, and making video is an increasingly important skill for youngsters to develop. We’ve put together ten exciting assignment ideas that will help elementary and middle school teachers get their students making great video! Parents, feel free to steal these ideas for rainy weekends, too.

Make Video Really Easy For All Students

Not all students will be able to access their own camera equipment. This could be due to their families’ budgets, their age, parental permissions, or some may be a little too shy to be on camera.

Remove obstacles by creating groups to work on each project, and consider setting up a couple different “studios” in the classroom. Then, come up with fun and quiet assignments that groups not actively filming can tackle, like script writing or prop-making, while others get their turn in front of the camera.

An in-class studio could be as simple as a backdrop with a tripod, or more complex depending on your school’s resources and the space you have to work with. If you are able to setup a couple different studios, more than one group could be creating videos at the same time, and, no one will be left out if they can’t get the right equipment.

Basic video equipment is really inexpensive in this day and age, especially for this type of kid-friendly production. A low-cost video camcorder from Amazon would likely suffice, and simple tripods are usually under $50. If you aren’t in a position to purchase equipment, you can always use a smartphone or tablet with a mini-tripod or similar stand, or a laptop with a built-in camera.

Editing the final video together might not be required for all of these project ideas, but it makes sense to check on the availability of video editing programs on school computers to see if it might be possible. iMovie or Windows Movie Maker are both free and easy to use. That way, any particularly inspired students can take their project to the next level if they’d like.

Video Assignments for Elementary School Students

1. task: make a short video reviewing your favorite book..

Objective: Students should record themselves giving a synopsis of the book and sharing what they enjoy about it. Using age-appropriate props, younger children can shoot a scene from the book; older children can direct a scene featuring their friends.

In addition to putting thoughts together coherently, and learning how to write for film (for older students), this task will enable children to be comfortable in front of and behind the camera, and encourage collaborative group work.

2. Task: Make a commercial.

Objective: Take an everyday object – an apple, pen, table, lunchbox – and ask students to make a commercial trying to sell it. They should put together a script, create a jingle, and design a brand logo as well as filming the advert.

Depending on the age of your students, they could work together. Ask each member of the group to take responsibility for a different element of the video. This is an effective task at showing students the power of persuasive writing, and how to work effectively in a team, as well as the objective behind advertising.

3. Task: Create a video tour of the school for new students.

Objective: Pupils can share their school experience with new students by recording and narrating it. They should interview teachers and other students, as well as showing their classmates using the school’s facilities (outdoor play area, pool, computer room). In addition to learning filming and editing skills, this task enables students to hone interviewing and communication skills.

4. Task: Exchange video messages with other schools.

Objective: Students from a partnering elementary school exchange short videos with your class that explain what life is like at their school, or another agreed-upon topic. The idea would be to generate interest in another culture, or to introduce students from a far-flung part of the USA. Not only would this type of exchange expand their horizons, but it would help develop their story-telling abilities, too.

5. Task: Explain how to make your favorite food.

Objective: Have students make a short video about their favorite food, or a special family recipe. Use creativity for those who aren’t able to do any filming at home. For instance, have them bring in some of their favorite food to share, or use animated pictures instead of actual footage.

As an alternative, assign students to different meal groups, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then, have them work on the assignment in teams. This assignment will help students get to know and appreciate other food cultures, while also having a really fun time.

Video Assignments for Middle School Students

6. task: create vocabulary vines..

Objective: Show a word on paper (perhaps a student could be filmed writing it), then record a visual representation of the term. Each short video should be shared with the whole class so students can easily access them. This is also a great exercise for foreign language classes.

Although Vine may no longer exist as a platform, short videos are still a great way to promote learning.

7. Task: Make a two-minute video assignment about your hobby.

Objective: The student will learn to operate a video camera (or the video function on their smartphone or tablet), grab copyright free clips from the web, and edit footage.

Part of the challenge will be to adhere to the two-minute time limit. Older students can be taught how to use industry-standard editing software. Whatever level they are at, students will respond positively to being given free rein to get creative and produce original content about a topic that interests them.

8. Task: Create a video dialogue with a famous historical character.

Objective: Using the split screen effect, the student should record themselves in conversation with someone the class has been studying in history. They will enjoy dressing up and getting into character for this task!

This video assignment challenges the student to demonstrate a deep understanding of the psyche and motivations of an historical personage. Note: this assignment also works well as a conversation between the student and a character from the book the class are studying.

9. Task: Film your science lab project.

Objective: Film a project from start to end, hypothesis to conclusion. Students should show footage of the experiment being set up, carried out, and concluded. They should add a voiceover explaining what’s happening and why in each shot.

This assignment is two-fold. In addition to demonstrating their understanding of the relevant scientific principles, students will hone their filming and editing skills.

10. Task: Give your own TED Talk.

Objective: Show students an age-appropriate TED Talk that’s relevant to a topic they’re studying in your class. They should use it as a basis to put together their own presentation on that subject area. Encourage them to use visual aids and to adapt an engaging mode of presenting, just like the TED speakers. A cameo from friends, family members, or even pets makes for a great video!

For demonstrating to students that a ‘talk’ is more than just talking, we recommend showing them the following TED videos: The Shared Experience of Absurdity, The New Bionics that Let Us Run, Climb and Dance, and Einstein the Parrot.

Secure Sharing

For sharing the video, it’s important to be sensitive to the privacy of the children participating. Consider sharing the video with a password or with login protection to make sure only the participants, or their parents, can view it.

Make sure you can track viewers at a very granular level. For instance, video engagement metrics enable you to check that only approved viewers are accessing your content.

If you need a website for sharing your students’ videos, we even have that covered. Each SproutVideo account comes with a customizable video website that you can configure to your specifications.

With SproutVideo, you’ll get the best live and on-demand video hosting platform for business. Start your free 30-day trial today and get unlimited access to all our features.

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Video class assignment tips for instructors and students

• January 31, 2021
• Alex Martinez
• Digital Media / Kaltura (Video Management) / WeVideo

This article covers:

• For instructors
• For students
• Getting Started

Team Roles and Responsibility

Stock photos and graphics, video software, video tutorials, affordable and royalty-free audio clips.

Video assignments can be a research-intensive, collaborative, and highly engaging student activity. The video can demonstrate skills, knowledge, and communication strategies. View some student video projects to give you ideas for your next class assignment.

For Instructors

• Final videos should be between 2-5 minutes. A high quality 5-minute video can take about 5-10 hours to produce.
• Ensure that the project grade has the appropriate weight.
• Ensure that students keep you updated with their progress, require them to send you frequent project updates to avoid the project being done at the last minute.
• Create a “Group Planning” document for your student groups to help them plan, communicate, and organize. Spanish Skits ( http://goo.gl/hvaq4I ) Chemistry ( http://goo.gl/RpsPO2 ) B2B Marketing ( https://goo.gl/DsQef7 )  Why Make B2B Videos?
• For help with video assignments, contact [email protected] to get answers to your questions and support. We can give your students a workshop and a tour of the Digital Media Center.
• Give your students a few weeks to complete this project. Each week students should submit a progress report to ensure they are on track.
• Inform students that they can upload their videos into your Canvas course using My Media
• Create a video assignment in your Canvas course to make.
• Instruct students to submit their video assignments to make grading fast and easy using the Canvas speed grader tool.
• Science Communication Rubric
• Pecha Kucha Rubric (PDF)
• Infographic Instructor Grading Rubric
• Multimedia Science Activity Rubric
• Digital Storytelling Rubric
• Digital Video Project Rubric
• B2B Marketing Video Rubric

For Students

• Tips for students completing video class assignments (PDF)
• Spanish Skits
• Chemistry Educational
• B2B Marketing
• Take advantage of the DU Digital Media Center ; they have friendly staff and cool video software.
• Computer Screen Capture:  Jing (Free) and Skitch (Free)
• Prioritize recording high-quality audio. The further the microphone is from your presenter, the worse your audio quality will be. Recording indoor in quiet spaces or adding a voice-over track are the best options for capturing high-quality audio.
• Define a clear purpose and outcomes for the video .
• Establish teams and assign project roles and responsibilities.
• Research videos online that match your goals and expectations.
• Produce a video that is visually engaging to your audience. Scenes should be changing every 5-10 seconds.
• Create a storyboard shoot list and script .
• Create a project timeline and video team document to keep you organized.
• Tips for producing class assignment videos, “Before, During and After” .
• Have weekly team meetings.
• How to produce a video documentary by Adobe
• How to share final video securely to only class participants via Canvas Media Gallery
• Producer: Initiates and coordinates meetings and time management; has a high-level view of the project and timelines
• Script Writers: Responsible for creating the storyboard and script
• Researchers: Responsible for researching the topic, fact collecting and citations
• Videographer/Photographers/Audio Technicians: Responsible for video recording and still photos; ensures good lighting and audio quality
• Narrators: Provides audio or video commentary
• Illustrators / graphic artist : Responsible for drawing custom art work
• Video & Audio Editors: Responsible for video and audio editing software; will edit and share revisions with team members
• OpenVerse – 6 millions reusable objects
• Flickr Creative Commons
• DU Flickr Collection
• Science Images
• Archives.org
• Videvo.net – video b-roll clips
• ZOOM: Free video conference for all DU staff and students. Allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, interviews, and microphone. No editing features.
• Kaltura (Canvas My Media and DU MediaSpace): Free video conference for all DU staff and students. Allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone. Limited editing features. Kaltura is available within Canvas under My Media and DU MediaSpace .
• Kaltura Capture allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone.
• WeVideo – A web-based video editor designed for non-video professionals that’s easy to use. DU has a few student licenses.
• Adobe Creative Cloud software : DU Students, staff and faculty members now have access to this suite of Adobe software.
• iMovie – Mac 
• Camtasia Studio – Free video editor – 30 day trial for PC and Mac
• Blender : Free and open source 3D creation suite.
• PowToon – An online animated video software for both Mac and PC. Not free.
• Making a digital story video using iMovie
• Making a digital story video using WeVideo
• Vimeo Video School
• Video Story Guide
• Tips for marketing videos
• Videvo video clips
• YouTube Audio Library
• PartnersInRhyme
• Incompetech
• Global Sound Promotion
• Free Music Archive

The DU Digital Media Center has professional video and audio software for students. They are located in the Anderson Academic Commons and are normally open when the library is open.

Related Articles

Canvas kaltura important updates (4/2/2024), how to access zoom recordings in mediaspace, how to obtain a transcript file when conducting interviews using zoom, kaltura or a phone, kaltura – adding a single video to your canvas course, adding kaltura video on a du drupal page, wevideo tutorials & resources.

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• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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25 Creative Video Project Ideas Your Students Will Love

Tell a story, make a newscast, create a vlog, and more!

It’s never been easier for students to create fun and engaging videos to show off their knowledge! We’ve rounded up 25 video project ideas for your students to try. You’re going to love the results!

General Video Projects

Language arts video projects, stem and social studies video projects, school community video projects.

Use these video project ideas for any subject or grade. They’re easy to personalize and a lot more fun than writing a paper every time.

Student Portfolio

Student portfolios offer a chance to document learning and growth throughout the school year. Use the easy template to help kids create and customize their own video portfolios in a snap.

Student Vlog

Keeping a journal offers students a way to record and reflect on their thoughts and experiences. An online version is called a blog, while a video version is known as a vlog. Encourage students to record new videos on a regular basis as they document their experiences throughout the school year.

Here’s another fun video option that works for so many subjects. Students can create a broadcast for a historical event, to document the events in a book, or to report on a scientific discovery. Or have kids make up their own news stories for a creative twist.

Learning Reflections

True understanding means taking time to reflect on what they’re learning. Instead of just reciting dates, ask kids to reflect on how historical events make them feel, or relate history to current events going on around them now. Don’t just read a book—go deeper to make emotional connections. Videos allow students to talk through their reflections, something that’s easier for many kids than writing.

Scavenger Hunt

This is such a fun way to learn to use video-editing programs! Students complete the actions on a checklist, like showcasing their bedroom, introducing their pet, or fixing their favorite snack. Then, they use video editing to add a little flash before sharing it with the class. Find the checklist here.

Research Project

Instead of writing a paper, ask students to make a video of their research project. This way, they can share not only what they learned but how they learned it. Easily incorporate media, interviews, music, and more, and then share their projects in an online portfolio for everyone to see.

Give new life to book reports, write and film stories, create a commercial, and more with these language arts video project ideas!

Book Report

Forget ordinary reports— this template will help kids make engaging videos that show off their knowledge instead!

Creative Commercial

Crafting their own commercial is a really terrific way for students to practice persuasive writing. They can choose an existing product or start by inventing a brand-new “must-have” item for their project.

Book Review

This is another clever spin on ordinary book reports, presented in the form of a book review. Have each student choose a book to read and review. Remember, it’s OK if they don’t wind up liking the book! The important thing is to read, summarize, and then share their thoughts in a video.

Vocab Station

Make short videos to help others learn new vocab terms, in English or in foreign languages. It’s much easier to remember that  la naranja means “orange” when you see someone peeling a piece of fruit as they speak it for you. And it can be a lot of fun coming up with creative ways to demonstrate tricky words like “ephemeral” or “procrastinate.”

Read-alouds are fun for little kids to watch, but they’re even more fun for older students to create! Have students choose a beloved picture book, then use this template to create a read-aloud video. ( Check out some of our favorites for inspiration. )

How-To Video

Giving clear and concise instructions is a key life skill, but it takes some practice. Ask students to make instructional videos on any topic they like, being sure to include enough detail that someone watching would be able to copy their method and receive similar results. It’s harder than they think!

Green Screen Story

Green screen effects allow students to put themselves into any background they like. Once they’ve mastered the green screen, challenge them to use it to film a story or play they’ve written. It’s creative writing brought to life!

Evoking Emotion

Sounds, photos, and music are all capable of evoking emotion, though not everyone reacts the same in all cases. Assign students an emotion, then ask them to use various forms of media to try to evoke that emotion in the viewer. Encourage them to focus on image and sound rather than words.

Show off their love of science, technology, engineering, and math with these clever video ideas for all ages!

Scientific Method

Understanding and putting the scientific method into practice is a key part of hands-on science activities. Have kids record a video to sum up their project, demonstrating each step of the method along the way.

Real-Life Math

Kids love to ask, “But when are we gonna use this in real life?” In this video exploration, they’ll find out. Students come up with a real-world math situation, then show it in practice. You can use this concept with all sorts of math topics. Think money and decimals, figuring area, calculating taxes, and so much more.

Stop-Motion Science

Use stop-motion videos to explain scientific processes, with simple animations recorded one frame at a time. This technique can add a cool touch to science project videos.

Show Your Work

Encourage your students to make their thinking visible by screencasting as they work their way through a math or science problem. Watching other kids work through a process can help all students better understand the topic.

Virtual Field Trip

Travel the world without leaving home by creating a virtual field trip video using Google Earth. Insert photos, street views, music, and more to make a geography lesson into a real adventure.

A Day in the Life

Turn a history report into a personalized experience by asking kids to film “A Day in the Life” of their subject. It could be an Egyptian pharaoh, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Aztecs living in Mexico before the Europeans arrived. This is one of those video project ideas that works for any place and time.

Use these ideas to get the word out about exciting happenings, on campus and off!

Morning Announcements

Morning announcements have come a long way since the days of scratchy PA snippets full of feedback. It’s easy to put together beautiful and engaging video announcements using this template instead.

Getting To Know You

Introduce a new teacher, celebrate a student of the month, or learn more about school support staff by making a Q&A video. This template provides examples of questions to ask, making the interview process easy and fun.

Event Promo

Build excitement for the upcoming talent show, fundraiser, or pep rally with an event promo. These are perfect for sharing on social media for the whole community to see! Get the template here.

Public Service Announcement

Tackle important topics like recycling, safety, health, and more by making PSAs. Students are more likely to listen to their peers than to yet another adult “telling them what to do.” Create a list of possible topics, or ask them to brainstorm issues that are important school-wide.

Morning Meeting

Lots of schools have replaced homeroom with morning meetings. Asking kids to lead these meetings can provide valuable learning opportunities, but it’s really hard for some students to speak up in front of others. Let them lead a morning meeting via video instead, using this simple template .

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15 video project ideas for students (that teachers will love too)

15 video ideas for school that kids will love, 1. record an interview with a famous historical figure, 2. make a stop-motion animated scene, 3. cover the latest news and current events, 4. make a video portfolio, 5. make a how-to video, 6. film a behind-the-scenes video, 7. create a day-in-the-life of your class video, 8. make a cool montage video, 9. recreate a moment in history, 10. film a science experiment, 11. create a video book report, 12. film a video tour, 13. create a video time capsule, 14. make an instructional video of your favorite hobbies, 15. edit each other's videos, summary: school's out – let's make some videos.

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• Select your images, videos, and audio clips. Once you open Premiere Rush or Premiere Pro, you’ll want to start a new project and either choose existing media from your own library, or opt for high-quality stock photos or videos. You can even use existing audio clips. Be sure to select all of the assets you want to use in your video production. The images, videos, and audio will show up in the order of your selection, but you can always rearrange them in the video timeline. If you're merging and editing videos on your mobile device, check out this tutorial .
• Edit the flow and appearance of your video. To make your video more interesting, you may want to add transitions, motion graphics, and music to your story. You can even use the editing tools to split, shorten, lengthen or duplicate a video clip; use color presets; adjust the audio tracks; and transform your video with rotation, crop, and zoom functions.
• Customize your video titles. With Premiere Rush and Premiere Pro, you have the option to type in and edit your own title, or choose from the hundreds of title templates available to you. If you select a template, you will be able to customize it to your needs, such as changing the title size, color, spacing, and orientation.
• Save your video for sharing. When you’re finished editing your video, you can save it as an MP4 file or upload it directly to your YouTube channel or social media pages.

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How to Create a Rubric to Assess Student Videos

Jul 25, 2022

Using video in the classroom helps to keep students engaged and add make your lessons more memorable. Students can even make their own videos to share what they've learned in a way that is exciting and fun . But what do you do when it comes to grading students’ video projects?

One of the easiest ways to show students what’s expected of them is to create a rubric breaking down the different elements of a video project. You may have already created rubrics for other class projects — ones that involved posters, labs, or group work. Rubrics for video projects are similar. The medium may be different, but the learning and thinking students do are still there for you to assess.

Ways to assess a video:

You can use video projects at many different levels. Some of the elements in your rubric are going to be the same, whether you’re assigning a video to a high school physics class or using Animoto for a fourth grade vocabulary project.

Here are some things to include when developing a video project rubric:

Content: Clearly state what information and how much of it students should include. For example, in a biography project, students might be expected to include five interesting facts about their person in order to get the highest number of points on the rubric.

Images: Make sure your rubric states how many images you expect in an excellent, good, average, and poor project. You might want to add that those images should be relevant to the topic (e.g. no skateboards in a butterfly video) and appropriate. If you want to emphasize research skills, you could also require they use public domain images or cite their image sources.

Sources While this may not be necessary for very young students, middle and high school student videos can and should include a text slide with their bibliography or an accompanying paper bibliography.

Length: Just as you would set a page limit for an essay, you should set limits on video length, especially if you want to share the videos with the class. That length depends on your project — a simple “About Me” video project can be a minute long, while a more involved science or English assignment could be two to three minutes.

The style and flair of the video itself should really take second place to the student’s process — how a student researched the project, chose images, and organized their information. When your rubric reflects that, you’re truly assessing what a student learned.

Video project ideas

Creating Animoto accounts for you and your students is completely free! Once you have your free account set up, there are endless ways to strengthen your lessons using video. Here are some of our favorites.

Digital scavenger hunt

Take your lessons outside of the classroom with a digital scavanger hunt ! Have your students find specific plants and animals, architectural landmarks, historical features, and even shapes in their real-world environments and photograph them as they go. Then, they can add them to an exciting video that can be shared with the class using our Educational Presentation template.

Video autobiography or biography

Have your students research important figures throughout history or even share their own life stories with a video ! The Self-Introduction template makes it easy to share the most important moments of one's life in a fun and engaging way.

Vocabulary videos

Put new vocabulary into action with a video! You can teach students new vocabulary words and then have students find real-world examples of them in real life. Or, let students share all the new words they've learned over summer break using the Vocabulary Lesson template.

Book trailers

Book trailers are a great way to get the story across in just a few short minutes. Whether starting from scratch on a brand new book or creating a summary of a favorite book, the Book Trailer template makes it simple.

Video presentations

Video presentations are a great way to showcase your learnings without the anxiety of a traditional presentation. They can be used in virtual classrooms or shared "IRL" to supplement student presentations. The Educational Presentation template is versatile, engaging, and easy to customize and share.

Sports recap

Extracurricular activities are part of a well-rounded education. Celebrate wins or even analyze your game with the Sports Recap template! It's a great way to increase school spirit and show students that you care.

Book reports

Hit your reading goals for the semester and make sure the lessons hit home with a book report! Rather than an extensive essay, the Book Report template hits on all the high-notes and most important elements of a particular book.

How are you grading your students’ Animoto videos? Let us know in our Facebook group, the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community .

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15 Best Creative Video Project Ideas for Students of All Grades

Videos have been utilized effectively in classrooms to produce and distribute knowledge and information. They are simple to use and versatile, making learning engaging and interesting. Letting students create their own video projects is becoming a far more prevalent teaching strategy among teachers. Coming up with video project ideas isn’t always easy for students, though. This article published by MiniTool MovieMaker will share 15 creative video project ideas for students of all grade levels, covering elementary school students, high school students, and college students. Let's find out!

Part 1: Video Project Ideas for Elementary School Students

For primary pupils, teachers often use video projects to hold students’ attention and promote understanding. Consider the following funny video project ideas for kids this age:

#1. Make a Video Tour

Allow students to film a video tour of an important place or their preferred part of the school. It’s a great idea to supplement students’ social studies programs as well as an excellent method of sharing the campus with new students and visitors.

#2. Celebrate the Holidays

Whatever the season, there is always something to celebrate. Elementary students can create videos depicting their traditional holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. This helps to increase their creativity and cultural awareness.

To create your Thanksgiving video with your own pictures and video to express your love, you can try using MiniTool Movie Maker.

#3. Create a Video for Book Reports

Unlike the traditional book report, making a book report video provides students with a more innovative choice to share their reading experience. This goes a long way toward deepening students’ understanding and curiosity about the concepts they’ve learned in class.

#4. Create a Fun Video

Enable students to create videos to showcase their talents, take part in their favorite activities, or enjoy their hobbies such as, singing, dancing, playing tennis, swimming, cycling, etc. Moreover, this method will assist students in learning more about their classmates and peers.

#5. Make a Video About the Science Experiment

Students are encouraged to use video to discuss and submit the outcomes of their science projects. This way, even if they no longer have a printed copy of the lab report, they can refer to it at any time.

You might be interested in: Great Science Videos for Kids – Top 10 YouTube Channels

Part 2: Video Project Ideas for High School Students

High school video project ideas should be a bit more enhanced while remaining creative and educational. These ideas can help develop students’ skills and expose them to a variety of subjects. Here are some examples of unique video project ideas for high school students:

#6. Exchange Practice Records

It takes time, patience, and continuous practice to improve a new skill. Allow your students to choose a skill they would like to master and assess their devotion by having them create their videos while practicing. Knowing that their peers will watch these videos motivates them to be more action-oriented and to keep up the good work.

#7. Make a Video Portfolio

In high school, students begin to think about their future careers. It’s a good opportunity for them to make a portfolio video project for sharing their passions and interests in a particular subject area. Such videos can emphasize important interests, skills, and the knowledge students already have regarding their desired future occupations.

Any tips for making an engaging video for a school project? What video editors can you use for a school project video? How to make a video for school projects?

#8. Design a News Show

No matter where we look, there are new trends and events. It is a fantastic idea for students to make a news show to report current events in their community or school. Designing a news show gets everyone interested and promotes teamwork.

#9. Produce Videos of Important Places and Gatherings

Students can connect with their fellow students and other learners across the world by creating and sharing videos of museums, galleries, zoos, libraries, and other important places they have visited. They can create the video while still at the venue, participate in large events, such as festivals, traditional gatherings, cultural activities, and so on, as well as produce videos about their experiences.

#10. Promote a Worthwhile Cause

Students have various interests, and you can encourage them to discuss their hobbies by making videos that showcase and promote them. Sharing this kind of video can help them become more convincing and assertive, as well as open to instruction and guidance.

Just looking for an educational video maker to create engaging educational videos? This post will share the top 9 educational video makers with you.

Part 3: Video Project Ideas for College Students

College students can also take advantage of video projects. Through video projects, they can demonstrate their understanding of key concepts and interest fields to classmates, instructors, employers, business partners, and others. Below are some creative video project ideas for students in higher institutions:

#11. Develop a Self-assessment Video

Through self-assessment, students can learn about their strengths and weaknesses so that they can improve themselves better. At the same time, self-assessment enables students to take responsibility for their performance and strive for improvement. For instance, if students feel they’ve got a grade unfairly, they can utilize these types of videos to respectfully advocate for a better assessment.

#12. Generate a College Promotion Video

Students in college are often the best candidates to create promotional videos for their schools. Teachers can have students create these videos, emphasizing the school’s important research and subject areas, to entice prospective students to come study. In this way, they can conduct research and share wonderful aspects of their school life.

Want to make promotional videos but have no clue where to start? This post will present you with an ultimate guide on how to make a winning promotional video.

#13. Make Use of Videos to Teach a Subject

A good way to test a student’s understanding of a specific concept is to have the student teach another student. For instance, instructors can ask students to create their own videos introducing a particular concept. In this way, the instructor reinforces the “student-teacher” knowledge and skills while ensuring that the student understood the concept correctly.

#14. Create a Video Resume

For the majority of college students, it’s time to look for a job before graduation. A video resume can assist them in highlighting the critical skills and experiences gained during their college years. In particular, the video resume is the optimal complement to a paper resume when applying for remote or distant positions.

#15. Conduct Interview Sessions with Fascinating People

Different people have different stories, and communicating with them is simply one of the many ways to learn and dig into their experiences. Higher education teachers can encourage students to conduct interview sessions with prominent individuals in their areas of interest or different fields. Such interviews can be virtual or one-on-one. These videos can act as learning aids for students and others who may never see these experts in their lives.

What is an interview video? What are the benefits of interview videos? What are the types of interview videos? How to make an interview video?

Basic Tip: Video Editors You Can Try to Create an Awesome Video Project

With the above great ideas for video projects in mind, let’s take a look at which video editors can help you create compelling video projects quickly and easily.

#1. MiniTool MovieMaker

MiniTool MovieMaker is a simple, professional video editing application suited for educators and students with no prior video editing experience. This application is so intuitive that users can quickly become familiar with it in just a few minutes.

Additionally, it provides you with a plethora of handy functions, including applying cool movie templates; adding drag-and-drop transitions, filters, motions, texts , and stickers; quickly splitting/trimming/cropping video footage; flipping videos horizontally or vertically; rotating videos from 0° to 360°; adjusting the video speed; and others.

The best thing is that this video editor supports popular aspect ratios and allows you to share your video projects on different social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Meanwhile, MiniTool MovieMaker excels in batch processing of photos and videos.

While exporting your video projects, it enables you to choose the video format, resolution, bitrate, and frame rate. People can also export videos up to 1080P without watermarks using it.

Here’s how to use MiniTool MovieMaker to create an awesome video project:

Step 1. Create a New Project

By clicking the download button below, you can instantly download MiniTool MovieMaker and install it on your PC.

MiniTool MovieMaker Click to Download 100% Clean & Safe

Once the installation process is complete, open it, and close the Register window. From the top-left corner of the Project library window, expand the Aspect Ratio drop-down list, select an aspect ratio, and click New Project .

Step 2. Import Your Media Files

Click Import Media Files to access the local folder and import the video, image, or audio files you’re going to edit. Drag and drop the imported media files into the below timeline.

Step 3. Design Your Video Project

Now you can edit your video project based on the footage you have and how you want it to look. MiniTool MovieMaker enables you to do basic and advanced editing, take the following ones for example:

• Add an effect – Click the top Effect option, confirm the effect you want to use, click the Download icon on the desired effect to get it, and drag and drop the downloaded effect to the target media clip on the timeline. Plus, you can add your favorite transition, motion, text, and animated element in a similar way.
• Split video clip – Select the video clip on the timeline you want to split, click the Scissors icon on the toolbar above the timeline, and select the Full Split option. Then, a small window will appear where you can perform splitting as needed in the SPLIT tab.
• Do color correction – Click the video or image clip on the timeline to highlight it. Go to the top-right corner of the interface, you will see Video Property or Image Property section. In the default Basic tab, you can adjust the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the video or image clip as well as apply a 3D LUT.

Step 4: Preview Your Video Project

In the Player section of this video editing application, you can click the Play icon to watch the edited video for fine-tuning, while moving the Volume icon to turn up or down the sound of the video for your enjoyment.

Step 5. Export Your Video Project

After all the editing is done, click the Export option above the Player section to make some output settings and save the video project to your PC.

Ready to start creating an eye-catching video project? My video projects stand out thanks to MiniTool MovieMaker’s drag-and-drop editing and easy-to-use functions. Click to Tweet

iMovie can effortlessly meet almost any demonstration learning need. Teachers and students alike can use this video editor to develop digital portfolios that contain everything from collaborative conversations to presentations, book trailers to interviews, and more. As well, tutors can record demos and lessons for flipped classes or for students who need extra help understanding the content.

#3. Filmage Editor

Filmage Editor is a robust video editing software that helps to create stunning video projects. It allows you to easily cut and merge video clips, add voiceover or background music, remove background noise and comes with many other basic and advanced features.

Furthermore, Filmage Editor provides a wealth of built-in resources, like filters, stickers, transitions, special effects, etc., to help elevate your video to a new level. Using it, teachers and students can produce an outstanding video project in a short period of time.

#4. Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is also a powerful video editing program that teachers and students can use to create great video projects. This program features a non-linear editing interface, an unrivaled tool ecosystem, and strong functionalities.

Some of its features are really worth using, for example, automatic reconstruction tools, performance improvements, and enhanced HDR support. Adobe Premiere Pro’s built-in tutorials are easy to navigate and allow users to rapidly complete various types of video projects.

Over to You

All in all, the video project ideas for students of all grade levels in this article are creative enough to successfully capture the attention of the audience while effectively conveying the message. By the way, you can try the above-mentioned professional video editors to design your personal video projects, among which MiniTool MovieMaker is the one you can’t miss.

If you have any questions or problems when using MiniTool MovieMaker, please feel free to contact us by sending an email to [email protected] .

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How To Make A Perfect Video for Your School project?

A school project video is one of the best ways to try out the career of a professional video editor, actor, or director. 

Think about it. You can sink your toes into the water without raising the stakes. After all, what’s on the line? Your grade? Come one, everyone and their mother will get the pass as neither your teacher nor your classmates are treating the project seriously.

You should. 

For starters, you can kick off your YouTube career and start earning thousands of dollars from the comfort of your couch. Then there’s the fact that you’ll beat your competitors into the ground with close to no effort (they don’t take the project too seriously, remember?).

Just walk the extra mile, spend an additional hour or two, and explore the amazing world of video editing while passing the assignment with flying colors at the same time! 

So here are the steps on how to make a perfect video for your school project. 

Step 1 – understand your audience

This may come out as a shocker, but not everybody likes Star Wars. There are people who hate the Lord of the Rings movies. There are those disliking the Green Mile. 

Sure, neither of them take away from the cinematic perfection these flicks are, but their opinion means the world if these viewers are the only ones to see the movies and judge them. 

Same can be said about your own video. It can be a cinematic perfection generously sprinkled with after-effects and technical know-how, but if your audience – or in the case of a school project video your teacher – dislikes these kinds of things, you are probably just wasting your breath.

Additionally, your audience is quite windy. They’ll care for a cause today and reject its very essence tomorrow. Don’t become a yesterday’s meme – pay attention to the trends. 

Let’s imagine you are shooting a video about your adorable pooch . Here’s a handy checklist for you to consider:

Step 2 – Define a clear message

Speaking of understanding your audience, it’s also your job to make sure they can understand you. If you really want them to give a damn, pick a theme for your video, narrow it down to a single message, and work from there. 

Explaining why 2 times 2 is simpler than explaining the same concept in a video about the effect the tides have on the population of blue whales in the Pacific. 

School Video Project Ideas

Speaking of a theme, here’s a handy list of video project ideas for high school. Don’t be shy to use it as your cheat sheet.

• Personal narratives are awesome. Make the video about you and show off those aspects of your personality you feel others are missing. Alternatively, try to compile an interview of what others think about you. This way you’ll engage your audience in advance and maybe learn something new about yourself. 
• Whiteboard animations are super-effective if you need to get your point across. Think a PowerPoint presentation to support your report, but animated and with all kinds of awesome bells and whistles. 
• Stop-motion animations are a bit tedious to make, but the results are very much worth it. 
• You can teleport yourself to magical places and different realms with the power of the Chroma Key effect . All you’ll need is a green screen and the Animotica app to help you out along the way. 
• As for what your video should be about, try making a book trailer, convey a powerful message about the environment into an animated short, or share a loving thank you note with others. These kinds of projects are without a doubt made to be A material. 

Step 3 – Set up the lights

Light plays a quintessential role in the quality of a video. The trickiest part about it is that a single misplaced light bulb will make an otherwise astonishing product look amateurish. 

One of the biggest no-no’s here is overhead lighting. The shadows it casts are unflattering, to say the least. Filming near the window, on the other hand, is a quaint little trick. 

The type of light plays an important role as well. A soft light will remove all shadows from your actor’s faces. Hard light can create dramatic emphasis and set up the mood. 

Either one is good for a certain purpose. The choice is on you. Who are we to step between a creative genius and their work? 

• If you are looking for soft lights, have two light sources on both sides of the camera. This way they’ll cancel out the shadows they cast.
• Hard lights are usually set on one side: left, right, or below (but never above, remember?) 

Step 4 – Work out the shot

If you’ve ever watched a video on YouTube, you know that vertical shots and shaky cam suck. Luckily, these things are easily dealt with. Simply set up your camera on a steady surface and you are good to go. 

As for the aspect ratio , you can flip and turn your videos in but a handful of clicks with the Animotica movie maker. 

Step 4 – Put your finger on the Rule of Thirds

Imagine there’s a 3X3 grid laid over your shot. The points where the lines cross are your areas of interest. Place the object you are filming along those lines instead of keeping it square in the middle, and add a couple of additional objects, important to the shot onto the other dots.

Congrats, you now know more about composition than 99% of professional YouTubers! This is how you can activate Grid in Animotica.

Step 5 – Be the start of your own show!

If you are going to focus your next project around you or one of your classmates, practice your camera presence. Make a few shots in the test mode , see how the light affects the face, check if the mic picks up the voice, and try out some of the coolest acting tips popping up in your head. Don’t be afraid to experiment! 

What’s next? 

You’ve armed yourself with a couple of school project video ideas, learned about some of the coolest film making tips to give you an edge over the competition, and learned several secrets of the video editing trade. The rest is up to you.

You can edit your videos with Animotica and the best part is, it is available to schools for free! You can apply for your free license here .

Design, shoot, create, edit, experiment! And don’t forget the part about winning science fair projects for high school with your astonishing creations. Here’s how you do it! 

7 Signs of a Perfect Video Editing Platform

How To Make Your Kids Channel on YouTube?

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• Learning >>

How and Why Educators are Including Video Assignments in their Courses

Educators in all fields, from theatre to architecture to food science, and even math , are starting to see how students can use their phones to make video and engage more strongly with what they're learning. Students make creative or explanatory videos, or just film themselves practicing the skills they’re learning.

With the disruptions everyone has experienced during the COVID crisis of 2020, video assignments may be even more powerful tools for keeping students engaged and promoting the social aspect of learning, even remotely.

As the technology gets more accessible and easier to use, more and more instructors have been turning toward student video projects as rich new form of evaluation and some are event favoring it over more traditional written assignments. Even the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English have added standards emphasizing the need to foster creativity by going beyond text to have students use other media in their learning activities and assignments (Morgan, 2012). Students, too, are usually prouder of what they’ve accomplished and say their learning experience was deeper when they make a video rather than handing in text.

So with the combination of high-quality video cameras on smartphones and cloud video sharing, we’re set to see an explosion of video and audio assignments in every discipline . It’s suddenly practical - easy in fact - for students to record and edit video. And it's a whole lot easier to submit the video so that teachers can give feedback and grades. 

Kirkland (2006) offers a diverse list of video-making assignment project, including:

• Documentary
• Presentation
• Skills Demonstration
• Public Service Announcements
• News Reports
• Dramatization
• A Mashup of Clips

Videos can be much more than a student presenting or explaining the content they are supposed to master. They can be vehicles for creativity, for learning teamwork and project management, and the production will increasingly be an employment-relevant skill.

For example, here's the introduction to a video assignment from a course at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health: " Do younger Canadians need a movement to promote their social determinants of health? Design a short creative video to answer this question."

In contrast to a typical in-class presentation that vanishes into thin air with little feedback, video assignments can be powerful learning tools for students as a persuasive visual argument requires deep, iterative conceptual and rhetorical thinking. Not only is it necessary for the student to synthesize various sources on the subject content, but she must also write it down as a script, read it, decide who to interview or record, and then create a video, requiring time spent filming and editing. All of those separate cognitive activities engage with the topic in different ways, stimulating creative and analytic work. Additionally, student created videos place students on display, and as such, students make a greater effort to master the subject content so as to avoid embarrassment in front of their peers. So students get to practice and demonstrate their grasp of key course concepts, but student-made video also promotes creativity and individuality, basically eliminating concerns about plagiarism.

A great deal of research reveals students themselves find video projects to be more beneficial to their own understanding and mastery of subject material. One study by Greene and Crespi (2012) looked at the perceived value of student-created videos as a tool for enhancing the student learning experience. Their data came from an accounting and a marketing course at a state university. 

Each course assigned its students a video project to assess their mastery of the material. The survey data gathered from the students who created the videos revealed that students found such projects “creative, unique and educational.” Moreover, the students who watched the creative projects said “the videos were extremely helpful, put a fun twist on learning experiences, a very good way to review material while helping others to understand the material, interesting to see the material learned in a video format, were a good learning experience, and a simple way to remember/learn the material.”

However, while these assignments are fun and provide academic benefits, they can also be frustrating for both students and instructors if students plan poorly, are not trained and supported with technology, or are confused about the purpose of the assignment. As noted by Kearney and Shuck (2006) , a gap exists in assessing learning outcomes for student created videos. This new form of learning activity brings with it challenges for teachers: What sort of guidelines should you set for video assignments? How do you make sure they are implemented effectively?

Asessment of Video Assignments

One of the most challenging aspects of assigning student made video assignments is designing a fair grading rubric that simultaneously helps students know what steps to take but doesn't quash their creativity. Video presentations are by their nature individually unique and the feedback on and grading of each assignment could therefore be quite arbitrary. It's critical that instructors set proper expectations for students so that they have sufficient understanding of the key items to focus on. Teachers will also have to have structured, regular check-ins with students. Ideally, the assignment will be graded in stages, allowing rich feedback (possibly on draft videos themselves with a tool like WeVu). 

A basic video assignment rubric will contain some of the following elements:

• An 'elevator pitch' that can be delivered as text or as a 30 second video. This is a good place to start, and it can be continually refined as the project evolves. 
• Storyboard. A sketch of each scene or phase of the video. This can be done on slides (powerpoint, google slides, etc.) or just as an outline document. The storyboard should be the main planning document and it needs to be able to be shared with teachers for feedback.
• Script. The script must be suitable for the topic, the assumed audience, and for the time available. Script editing should be a major component of the project.
• Selection of content. Students must be encouraged to generate lots of ideas, ruthlessly abandon lots of them, and sequence the content in a persuasive or engaging way.
• Technical production value. Students need to be assured they don't need to make a perfect video. They should be warned not to spend hours on little transitions or super-precise editing. But they should be directed to consider some of the key elements of production value, including distance and depth of shots, variation in perspective and length of scenes, audio quality, voice-over video, captions or text, and so on. 
• Teamwork and Project Management. Assignments will often be group assignments. Give students a recommended or required structure for their collaboration, including what technologies they should use. Consider a part of the grade devoted to their project management, in which case the teacher needs visibility into the team digital space (Google Docs/Sheets/Slides, probably) and/or the students should journal or log their work, task by task, with task assignments, due dates, and task statuses.

The Open Thinking blog has a good set of ideas for educators wanting to start using video assignments. And here’s a simple example of one from a Cognitive Psychology class:

Feedback. Learning during production and learning from production of video assignments.

Teachers face another learning curve as they try to provide effective feedback helps students really learn and do better work next time.  One problem is that the videos usually sit outside a school's online learning platform or the feedback is given as a separate text commentary, just like students get on the papers they hand in. The technology is just starting to catch up to what educators are doing — platforms like WeVu.video give students and teachers a place to share video without making it public, get peer feedback if desired, and get all the feedback on the timeline of the video, just like we’ve always done with comments in the margins of what we write. The videos can then be made public, without the comments, when they're done.

Video assignments are increasingly common and pedagogically powerful, but they need preparation and technology to succeed.

P.S. Here’s a nice short guide from Wired on how to make a film with a phone.

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• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

30+ ready-to-use TikTok lesson ideas for teachers - The Complete Classroom Guide

TikTok… yet another social network that keeps today’s students even more glued to their smartphones. Its short, entertaining videos have become immensely popular during the early days of the pandemic, but many teachers, parents, and researchers are worried about the impact of this application on today’s youth.

Despite this justified skepticism, TikTok does offer interesting possibilities for adding interactivity, creativity, and fun to lessons. Moreover, questions and assignments can be easily linked to a TikTok video by embedding it in BookWidgets.

This blog post is a complete “TikTok guide for teachers”, which includes the following components:

What is TikTok?

How does tiktok work, reasons to consider using tiktok in the classroom, ready-to-use tiktok lesson ideas.

• How to integrate TikTok videos in BookWidgets?

Best practices for using TikTok in the classroom

All digital exercises are created with BookWidgets . Create a free BookWidgets account (if you don’t have one already) and duplicate the widgets, which will allow editing. All examples are in this BookWidgets Blog group .

TikTok is a video-sharing platform launched in 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance. With over 1 billion active users and counting, it ranks 7th in the list of most used social media applications.

According to TikTok’s website, the application is “the leading destination for short-form mobile video. TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy”.

The platform is hugely popular amongst teens and tweens who watch, like, share, comment, and create uncountable ultra-short videos. The content on the platform is created by TikTok’s users (TikTokers) and covers a large variety of topics: pranks, DIY tricks, cooking tips, fashion, education, fitness… but TikTok is best known for its music and dance videos. The trending hashtags (#) and popular challenges encourage users to create and share their versions of viral videos, which might give some creators the hope of becoming a famous TikToker one day.

With an average usage time of 52 minutes per day, it is apparent that TikTok is an engaging (while some might say addictive) platform.

What makes TikTok different from other social media platforms, is the way new content is shown to the users. On most platforms, users begin by following people, brands, or organizations and then see the content they share. Sometimes, users get some suggestions based on interests or the popularity in a network ( similar to the suggested videos YouTube provides users on the right side of the screen ), but basically, the majority of content is related to user choice.

TikTok is different. When users set up a profile, the app directs them to indicate some areas of interest (with suggested topics) before being redirected to the TikTok home screen - the For You Page .

Once at the For You Page , the video stream immediately starts playing! Users will be able to see the first video which they can like, comment and share. If they want to see the next video, swipe up on a mobile device (or use the arrows on a computer keyboard). It is possible to watch thousands of videos without following a single profile.

Over time, TikTok’s algorithm understands which kind of content you like and will show you related videos. Even if you follow some accounts, the home screen will show you a lot of content from accounts that you’re not necessarily following, except if you click on Following on the top of the screen. Nevertheless, most users don’t seem to use this Following option and prefer scrolling through the For You Page to discover new trends.

It is also possible to search for specific videos in the Discover -area of the app. Here, viewers will be able to see a list of trending hashtags and related videos. They are also able to search for videos by topic using the search bar tool.

Users who want to create videos will quickly find the + button in the middle of the page. There are endless possibilities to video creation. Adding images, stickers, text, and audio, adding special effects and applying filters … anything is possible. Creative minds will certainly find enough tools to produce fun, engaging content.

One of the best features for creative TikTokers: the app contains a database with thousands of songs that creators can very easily add to videos.

This music library definitely contributes to the app’s popularity, given the huge number of videos where young people dance and/or lip-sync to popular songs. Some of these videos go viral and are the start of a “TikTok trend”, which encourages others to make their own version of a popular video. Viewers might even be tempted to try a TikTok challenge , like The Celeb Look-Alike Challenge which needs no further explanation.

With features like Duet , which allows creators to put a video next to an existing one, and Stich , which allows users to add a video at the end of an existing video, TikTok is pushing even harder on the idea of users inspiring each other to create more content for a fastly growing community.

With this understanding of TikTok, how can educators add value and incorporate these videos into lessons? What are the benefits of using TikTok in the 21st century classroom? How can the platform be used as and education tool? Let’s investigate:

• TikTok videos are short and to the point . This is important knowing the attention span of many classroom learners. Suggestions for use are as a lesson starter, or lesson summary. This may be a great time saver rather than selecting a longer YouTube video.
• Depending on grade levels, many students may already be using TikTok. Learners will be excited to utilize TikTok in the educational environment and may even encourage user to discover more instructive TikTok videos and accounts.
• When introducing the use of TikTok in class, educators have a wonderful opportunity to discuss digital citizenship, media literacy , screen time and the influence apps like TikTok have on learners. A reflection and discussion about social media in general is a great idea in any classroom environment.
• Last but not least, the platform offers funny, original, and inspiring videos relating to almost any topic an educator can imagine. By providing students TikTok assignments with authentic real-world content this moves teaching and learning up the SAMR model of technology creation while at the same time allowing educators to show “withitness” by keeping up with trending topics in students’ lives..

Fully convinced now with the idea of using TikTok videos in your lessons? Wondering how to introduce TikTok into lessons? Where can good, appropriate videos be found? Let’s check out some lesson ideas and examples which can be used for any subject.

First, I’ll give you some general TikTok lesson ideas and examples. These TikTok ideas for teachers could be used for any school subject:

1. Use a TikTok video as a lesson starter

• 2. Use a TikTok video for a summary at the end of a lesson
• 3. Ask students to search for a TikTok video about a lesson topic
• 4. Ask students to present a TikTok video
• 5. Ask students to create a video about the lesson topic
• 6. Write a comment for a TikTok video

Click on the links (below) for curated lesson ideas and examples for specific content and subject areas:

• 1. World languages
• 5. Economics and Marketing
• 7. Physical education
• 8. Technical courses
• 10. Information Technology (IT)

General TikTok lesson ideas (+ examples)

With a TikTok video at the start of a lesson, educators will definitely grab students’ attention. Showing a video related to the upcoming lesson will be a great starting point to start a discussion, activate prior knowledge and create excitement for learning.

2. Use a TikTok video for a summary at the end of your lesson

TikTok videos can also provide a solution for bringing it all together at the end of a lesson. A short yet powerful video will catch the learners’ attention of last time… and may even create opportunities to extend the lesson beyond the ringing of the dismissal bell. A TikTok video may also be integrated into an exit slip to assess students’ understanding of the day’s topic. Read more about exit tickets in a previous blog post .

3. Ask students to research for a TikTok video about your lesson topic

Why go looking for good videos when there is a classroom full of TikTok expert users. Ask students to find a school appropriate video on the lesson topic and create a curated video library. Students will be using their critical thinking skill and may even consider this the best homework assignment ever. In addition, they will probably find good videos that you can use again in your next lessons. Tip: teach them how to search for videos using hashtags and how to share the video link.

4. Ask students to present a TikTok clip

This lesson idea stems directly from the previous idea. If students are able to find and appropriate TikTok video, extend the learning by allowing learners to orally present their research in class.

5. Write a comment on a TikTok video

Ask students to write a comment for a particular video. This activity will encourage students to spend time analyzing the video content as well as understanding the importance of writing thoughtful comments on social media. Of course, always get parental permission as needed. Students don’t actually need to post this comment on TikTok. Comments can be easily sent to the instructor using the Split Worksheet option is BookWidgets. An example is provided below.

6. Ask students to create a video about the lesson topic

“I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.” - Confucius

It is a very good idea to ask students to create a video about lessons. By engaging with the lesson content in a different way, students will learn more and acquire various skills while stimulating creativity, critical thinking and communication.

Note that the word “TikTok” is missing from this lesson idea. As explained later in this blog post, it is not recommended that you require your students to create a TikTok account and add content to it. There are plenty of alternative video creation apps that allow students to let their creativity run wild (e.g., Clips, Flipgrid, Kinemaster, and Quik).

TikTok lesson ideas and examples for specific school subjects

Below, you’ll find you some TikTok lesson ideas and examples for specific school subjects:

• 10. Information technology (IT)

1. Tiktok lesson ideas for world languages

Apart from the above mentioned general ideas, there are numerous ways to utilize TikTok videos in a language lesson:

• I. Make use of thousands of videos published by dedicated language-learning accounts

II. Incorporate the Duet function for practicing conversations

III. Deploy TikTok videos for listening comprehension

• IV. Utilize the surprise effect of the “For you page” to practice expressing an opinion

V. Find inspiration for book reports

I. Make use of thousands of videos published by dedicated language learning accounts

There are many dedicated language learning TikTok accounts. Because their videos are so short, they often contain very concrete tips or a short, simple explanation of important grammar rules. The videos with pronunciation tips are also an added value because this is something you find much less on other platforms. I’ve made a selection of interesting and good-quality TikTok accounts for learning English, French, Spanish and German.

Suggested TikTok accounts for learning English :

• I am that English teacher
• Real-life English
• Lingua Marina
• Andrea Holm English
• 15 seconds English
• 30 seconds English
• Learn English every day

Suggested TikTok accounts for learning French :

• Madame Paname
• Studyfrench
• Encore French Lessons
• Français avec pierre
• Oh my French Class
• Monsieur le prof
• Maîtresse Adeline

Suggested TikTok accounts for learning Spanish :

• HelloTalk Spanish
• Spanish Teacher Latef
• Spanish Teacher Barcelona
• Learn SP with me

Suggested TikTok accounts for learning German :

• Deutch Eins
• Deutsch coach Begi Begi
• Dein Sprachcoach
• German Jobtalk
• DW Deutsch lernen
• Deutsch verstehen

Ideas on to to use language learning TikTok videos in class can be found in these BookWidgets examples.

The Duet feature allows TikToks users to react to an existing video by creating a new video. The result is a split-screen video where the original video and the reactions are posted next to each other. This feature is often used for music videos where TikTokers make music together, as in the example with Ed Sheeran earlier in this blog post. Some of the dedicated language-learning accounts publish videos in which the idea is to have a conversation by using the Duet function. If you like this idea, but you don’t want your students to post the result on TikTok because of privacy concerns, you could do this kind of activity within a split worksheet in BookWidgets, like in the two examples I’ve prepared below (one for English, the other for French).

When teaching language, TikTok is also a great place to find short, interesting authentic videos created by (young) native speakers. Using current, appropriate and fun content in the target language is very motivating for your students. These videos can be used as listening comprehension exercises. See the example provided for French learners, which is based on a video published by an account that promotes interesting activities in the area of Lille, France:

IV. Use the surprise effect of the For You Page to practice expressing an opinion

This is a really fun TikTok assignment when students are taught how to express their opinions about something. Ask a random student to watch the first video on his or her For you page and provide their opinion. This can be done as a written assignment but may be more engaging and valuable if done orally in class. If there is the option to mirror or project the student device others will be able to watch the video and provide opinions as well.

It is also possible to incorporate (highlight) media literacy at the same time by asking students to reflect why the believe the video appeared on the For You Page and why their classmates see different videos. Please be aware that some topics may be sensitive. Alternatively, you could do the same exercise with some screenshots of preselected TikTok videos, as shown in the example below.

#Booktok is a popular hashtag on TikTok and it might be a way to introduce some books to students. By researching this hashtag, students may find some interesting ideas for their next book report.

Another lesson idea is to ask students to find a video on TikTok about a book they’ve read or to make their own video book report.

2. TikTok lesson ideas for science courses

If teaching biology, chemistry, or physics, there are plenty of TikTok science experiment videos. Encourage students to create cool science experiment videos just like their favorite TikTokers do!

In the assignment below, students will find nine simple, yet engaging science experiments to do at home. The idea is to watch the videos and then recreate at least three of them, accompanied by scientific explanations.

Link these TikTok science experiment videos to your lesson topic, like in the example about Centrifugal force (presented earlier in this blog post).

For geography teachers, the Hotspot Image in BookWidgets is a great widget type for integrating TikTok videos from different countries or regions. Check out the example on the Seven Wonders of the World.

Looking for more TikTok videos related to science lessons, then use the hashtags #sciencetok and #tiktokscience to help find relevant content. See below for some science related TikTok accounts.

• Steam Forward Academy
• Physics is Fun
• Impossible Science
• Mel Science
• Magic Teacher 22
• A Biology Teacher
• Mrs. Nancy Bullard
• Incredible Science

3. TikTok lesson ideas for History classes

Surprisingly, History may be the school subject that has jumped on the TikTok train the fastest. History enactment and explanation videos have been trending on the platform for some time. In this Time magazine article , find more information about the phenomenon and some ideas about the use of this concept in History lessons.

These short history-related videos can be a great addition to lessons. It is important that students understand that a TikTok video never tells the whole story, as it is impossible to do this in the short video format. But it can be a starting point to do more research about a historical topic. One of the first things students will need to learn about is to check the quality, accuracy and bias of the videos as anyone is able to publish videos which may contain incorrect or unsuitable information.

Looking for more TikTok videos related to History? Use the hashtags #historytok and #historytiktok , which may help discover relevant content. Here are some suggested TikTok accounts (below).

• 7 Minutes in history
• History hit
• Quick.History
• Simple History
• Black Country Living Museum
• Slavic Caesar
• History Man
• S. Dilla Thomas
• Ryan Tretsky
• Michael McBride

The accounts listed below are great for covering current events in class.

• The Global World News

4. TikTok lesson ideas for math lessons

Quite unexpected, but TikTok can also be used for mathematics instruction. There are plenty of videos explaining the basics of math, as well as tricks and best practices. In some videos, the creator gives a question to the viewers, which they can solve via the comments on TikTok. If you want your students to send the answer to you, it can be done very easily via the equations question type in BookWidgets, as shown in the example below.

There are also many instructive videos on geometry. Once again, it is very easy and practical to integrate these videos in BookWidgets to add exercises and receive answers from students. The example below utilizes the WhiteBoard Question type in BookWidgets.

Want to find more TikTok videos related to math lessons, use the hashtags #mathtok and #mathtiktok to find relevant contend. Some suggested accounts are listed below. As always, please preview content to find the best fit for the classroom.

• Miss Roseann
• Markie Does Math
• Smaller Brain
• Your Bummy Math Tutor
• Math Explained 2
• Quick Learn Academy
• Quickk Maths

5. TikTok lesson ideas for Economics and Marketing

If teaching Economics, it is interesting to explore the business model of TikTok and other social media platforms with students. Provide an assignment in which they search for information like the mother company, business model, and yearly revenue. Additionally, ask students to investigate how these platforms keep trying to take away each other’s market share. An example of this type of assignment is shown below.

Interesting and relevant economics-related videos on TikTok can be found on the Planet Money account . Their short and funny videos explain a lot of economic concepts in an understandable way.

In Marketing classes, students can explore how some companies use TikTok as part of a marketing campaign. By analyzing these examples, students discover the interests of the platform for companies.

6. TikTok lesson ideas for Music lessons

TikTok is known for its music videos in which young people dance or lip-sync to popular songs. The platform has become very important to the music industry, as many songs were hits on TikTok long before they were picked up by the mainstream media. There are also plenty of examples of old songs that are enjoying a revival thanks to TikTok. Below are some ready-to-use TikTok lesson ideas for music lessons. Keep up with current trends, new opportunities will undoubtedly emerge.

I. Analyze popular TikTok songs

A first lesson idea is to have students analyze whether there are certain elements that a song should have in order to become popular on TikTok. Today, music creators are searching for the answers because being successful on TikTok can also generate commercial success. Many of the popular TikTok songs have an upbeat rhythm and are easy to sing along, but what exactly makes a song suitable for TikTok is a question that is probably best answered by students.

II. Understand the different layers of a song by listening to TikTok Duet creations

TikTok often brings out the musical talent of young people. Thanks to the Duet function, musicians from all over the world can jam with each other, and in this way, new songs can even be created, as in the example below. Such videos are great content when you’re learning students the different layers of a song. They’ll easily understand what each instrument adds to the song.

III. Participate in a musical challenge

In addition to the many dance challenges, there are also some fun musical challenges. We selected three that can be perfectly implemented in the classroom or as home learning.

IV. Rhythm exercises

There are a number of teachers who create their own TikTok videos to teach students basic concepts of music. Rhythm, for example, as in the video below by Jen Slaght. Be sure to check out her account for even more inspiration, she’ll show you musical games and activities like bucket drumming (from beginners to more advanced learners). The ready-to-use lesson example below is based on a video by Miguel Jaramillo , another music teacher.

V. Learn to play famous TikTok songs on the piano (or another instrument)

When students learn to play an instrument, they don’t always have to play the classics by Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach. There is nothing wrong with teaching them to play contemporary music as well. In the Quiz Widget below, there are the notes for five popular TikTok songs. Students can listen to the music before learning it themselves. If necessary, they can adjust the tempo.

7. TikTok lesson ideas for physical education

Of course physical education teachers will want students to spend less time on devices and move around more. TikTok has a solution for this. Make up a TikTok challenge and ask students to imitate the video as best they can. This is also a great activity for a substitute lesson when absent.

In addition, there are also physical therapists who publish good TikTok videos. Hopefully, they can inspire students to be more active. Be sure to check the quality of the videos, though. There are many workout videos that are less suitable for students.

8. TikTok lesson ideas for technical courses

For technical subjects, relevant instructional videos are more likely to be found on YouTube, but TikTok videos can be inspiring and help give technical subjects the cool image they deserve. The Widget below provides examples that may be useful. The accounts Popularmechanics and Katvoltage also provide good quality content related to (electro)mechanics.

9. TikTok lesson ideas for art class

If any museum knows how to reach young audiences through TikTok, it is the Uffizi Gallery in Florence . They have fully understood the language of the platform and create fun content, like the video below where the protagonists of Boticelli’s “Spring” do the “Nails Hair Hips Heels challenge”. You might ask your students to make such a video, to look at a historical work of art from a different perspective.

Other museums with a TikTok account can also provide useful content for your classes:

• Museum of Neon Art
• Museum Het Rembrandthuis
• Rijksmuseum

10. TikTok lesson ideas for Information Technology (IT) lessons

It is surely appropriate for IT teachers to cover the use of TikTok, social media, digital literacy and digital citizenship in class. Teach students how to select appropriate privacy settings, create a secure password, how to pause or delete accounts; how to report inappropriate content and more. Instructional videos for IT classes are more likely to be found on YouTube than on TikTok, but there are a few accounts that share interesting tips:

• Microsoft 365
• Ta Tech Tips
• Excel Friend
• Hardware Savvy

How to integrate TikTok videos in BookWidgets

Integrating a TikTok video lesson using BookWidges provides several advantages over other methods:

• Students don’t need to go to the TikTok app or website to search for the video. They’ll find it right away, inside the digital lesson or exercise.
• Easily create exercises related to the video: BookWidgets offers almost 40 different question types: multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, audio recording, draw or annotating a picture… all possible directly within BookWidgets platform.
• Easily receive student responses, check them and provide feedback. Many BookWidgets tools provide auto-grading of student work.

Embedding a TikTok video in BookWidgets may take some practice. Follow the steps below to become a BookWidgest embedding pro.

Step 1: Find the video code

To find the video code, first, find the video link. If you are working on a computer, just watch the address bar. If you’re on a smartphone or tablet, hit the share button and send the link to yourself.

The link should look like this: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamthatenglishteacher/video/7044534316973493509

Those numbers at the end of the URL are the video code. Copy this code.

Step 2: Create an embed link

Type the link https://www.tiktok.com/embed/ and paste the video code at the end. For our example, this would be “ https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7044534316973493509 ”

Copy this complete embed link.

Step 3: Use the embed link in BookWidgets

For Split Worksheets and Split Whiteboards

In the Text part, under Text pane type , choose web embed . Under Link type select the option I have a URL . Then paste the embed link in the URL field. Click on Preview in the upper right corner to verufy that the video appears correctly.

As TikTok videos are always vertical, you might want to make the Text part a bit smaller. To do so, go back to the widget editor and click on Design . Under Split style , change the Initial % text pane (e.g. 30%)

For quizzes and worksheets

Add a Text question . Add a title and text in the fields provided. Scroll down until you find the Web embed-part . Under Link type select the option I have a URL . Then paste the embed link in the URL field.

As TikTok videos are always vertical, change the width and height. A width-height ratio of 1:2 works well for TikTok videos (e.g. Width 200 - Height 400). Click on Preview in the upper right corner to check if the video appears correctly.

In its fast rise in popularity, TikTok has been pointed out several times for different areas of concern. When considering using TikTok in class, it is important to be aware of this criticism. It is important to have a balance in this blog post. Below please find a summary of the main concerns as well as tips for responding to these issues.

Like with any social network, I use it with moderation and caution, especially in a school setting. Since TikTok is hugely popular amongst students, the TikTok-related issues and concerns may just be a starting point to initiate a reflection on the use of the platform with them (and colleagues!).

1. TikTok’s privacy and security

Critics opinions of TikTok’s privacy and security range from “ it’s similar to other social media like Facebook, and that’s not a compliment ” to “ it’s just spyware disguised as a social media platform .”

It comes as no surprise that TikTok collects data from its users. Lots of data. Things like your username, phone number, location, IP address, search history, the device you’re using, the content you’re viewing…

The big question is who has access to this data and what can be done with it. TikTok gives the following answer on their website:

“We share your data with third-party service providers who help us to deliver the Platform, such as cloud storage providers. We also share your information with business partners, other companies in the same group as TikTok, content moderation services, measurement providers, advertisers, and analytics providers. Where and when required by law, we will share your information with law enforcement agencies or regulators, and with third parties pursuant to a legally binding court order.”

That’s a vast list, and what’s particularly concerning is that it’s all very broadly interpretable .

In addition to the limited control over what TikTok does with personal data, sharing so much content with other, unknown users is never without its dangers. This privacy issue is, of course, extra sensitive because TikTok a massive amount of young users . Officially users must be 13 years old to create a TikTok account. However, there are ways around this. Statistics show that up to one-third of TikTok subscribers are between 10 and 19 years old.

The platform, meanwhile, is aware of the sensitivity and in early 2021 updated the default privacy settings for children. The accounts of children between 13-15 are now private by default. Children under 16 also can no longer make Duet or Stitch videos. Kids aged 16-17 can, but by default only with friends. TikTok has also released several Family Pairing features to let parents link their TikTok account to their children’s to enable some content and privacy settings.

What can be done about these concerns if using TikTok in the classroom lessons?

Taking these privacy and security concerns into account, there are a couple of recommendations:

• Discuss with colleagues and school administration about the use of social media and TikTok in particular in the classroom.
• Understand that it is not necessary to create a TikTok account in order to watch a video. Use the BookWidgets tools to integrate fun, engaging TikTok videos into lessons and thus provide students with an assignment that does not require creating an account on the TikTok platform. Integrate a fun TikTok video into BookWidgets and thus give students an assignment about it without the need for an account.
• Engage students in a discussion about these privacy and security concerns. If students already have a TikTok account, teach them how to make it private and how to best configure other privacy settings , such as turning off personalized ads.
• ​​ Reflect with students about the content they share on TikTok and other social media platforms.
• Ask students if they are aware of how many people have access to their personal data and if they want these people to have access to their personal data.
• Have students reflect on whether they would want this content to be available online 10 years from now.
• When giving a creative assignment that requires students to create their own video content, do not force them to do so on TikTok . There are other video creation apps available that allow them to create a “TikTok style” video and upload these into your school’s LMS. Some examples include Clips (available by default on iOS devices), Flipgrid, Kinemaster, and Quik. Of course, prior to using any application, check in with parents/ caregivers, and administrators. Look at the privacy policy of these applications as well.

2. Concerns about TikTok’s content and the algorithm

Who sees what content?

There is also a lot of criticism about TikTok’s content. This is a difficult issue because the algorithm shows different content to each individual user. So, it is difficult to estimate what other users are seeing, although a look at the most popular videos can tell a lot. But, the content not seen can be the most frightening. On a platform where anyone can post videos so easily, fake news and conspiracy theories can spread quickly if there is no proper moderation.

An unrealistic image of society

On social media, everyone is ( almost ) always showing their best side. When growing teens constantly see perfect photos and videos of others, it can subconsciously make them insecure. This is not new, but TikTok can reinforce this phenomenon. When young people only see explicit dance videos with perfect bodies on a daily basis ( because those videos simply score well ), this can give them a very unrealistic image of society .

When TikTok worsens problems

But the opposite can also be true. There are cases of teenagers going through a more difficult period. The algorithm recognizes their mental state and shows videos of other young people testifying that they are having a hard time. This is not necessarily a bad concept, as it may help the viewer to feel less alone with their problems. However, when viewers get into a constant loop of “ depressing ” videos this can worsen the problem. For example, using the TikTok algorithm, there have been instances where teens with eating disorders only receive video recommendations of others counting calories or giving so called “tips” to lose weight.

When content doesn’t fit the picture of TikTok

In addition, TikTok has been criticized many times for deliberately pushing back content from certain groups of people. According to a leaked internal document , moderators would have been asked to suppress content from ugly, overweight, disabled and LGBT creators. In the summer of 2021, there was a strike by black TikTokers who felt that non-black influencers often take over their creative ideas without giving them the credits they deserve. Again, it is unclear to what extent the algorithm does or does not show content from social groups to which viewers do not belong. However, TikTok did not turn a deaf ear to this criticism and created an official BlackTikTok account .

Impact on children’s attention span

Finally, many scientists are concerned about the impact of constant exposure to super-short films on the attention span of growing children. So far, there has been very little scientific research on this topic, but there is no question that today’s young people are growing up with an overabundance of flashy, energetic, and rapidly changing content.

Taking these content related issues into account, there are a couple of recommendations:

• ​​ Reflect with students on the content they get to see on TikTok and other social media. Ask them to give examples of how social media platforms create a distorted view of society.
• Ask students how much time they think they spend on TikTok and other social media. Teach them to use a screentime app and after a week, ask how much time they effectively spend on these platforms.
• Show diversity, equity and inclusion as often as possible in the chosen content for classes. Be critical and include all sectors of society in teaching materials as appropriate for the school or district.
• Vary the types of content. A fun TikTok video from time to time can add value, but alternate this content with other formats where there is room for a more in-depth analysis of the work. This may include podcasts or other long-reads.
• Reflect on the use of social media in students’ lives by applying this ready-to-use lesson idea, based on three short films about social media .
• Teach students to fact-check information , and to distinguish facts from opinions . Below is a video that was published on the official TikTokTips account on this topic.

3. It can be hard to find the right TikTok videos

When I asked some teachers about their experiences of using TikTok in class, one of them answered me “I once used a nice TikTok video that a colleague had shared with me, but when I tried to find videos on my own I found that it was impossible without spending hours on the platform. I found the app far too addictive and deleted it after three days” … and I completely understand her reaction!

being a math teacher and preparing a lesson about the Pythagorean Theorem. It is possible to to to YouTube and utilize the search term “Pythagorean Theorem” and the first results may provide good quality Videos. This is due to the fact that YouTube’s algorithm does its best to show user the most relevant videos based on elements including the number of views, likes and comments as well as the videos previously watched. Using the same search term on TikTok will not necessarily guarantee that the videos first selected are useful. There may even be students videos complaining that they don’t understand the Pythagorean Theorem

Yet, the Pythagorean Theorem is an easy example, which does have some nice videos on TikTok. The process can be frustrating and time consuming in order to find the perfect videos for the content being taught. Remember, many social media applications are designed in a way to keep the user engaged and spend as much time as possible interacting with the application.

What can be done about these concerns when using TikTok in lessons?

Using hashtags is one solution (e.g. #EduTok , #LearnTok , …).

Additionally, looking for accounts that post content related to the course being taught may provide good content. Also, this blog post has some great suggestions.

Want to use the examples from this blog post in lessons? Join this BookWidgets group .

Do you already use TikTok in class or are you planning to do so? I hope I gave you some new ideas that might inspire you. Which of these ideas is your favorite? Let us know on Twitter! - @ibookwidgets

Or share TikTok lesson ideas in the Teaching with BookWidgets Facebook group so that in turn, you can inspire others!

Join hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and get the best content on technology in education.

BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

Utah high school removes class assignment on student essay titled ‘It Is So Hard to Be Trans’

The essay, published in the new york times, contained no explicit or “pornographic” content that would have required its removal under utah law..

(Google Maps) Herriman High School, as shown in a 2021 Google Maps image, in Herriman, Utah. Jordan School District officials ordered that a class assignment at the school involving a transgender student's essay be removed.

Jordan School District officials ordered that an assignment involving a Texas student’s essay published in The New York Times titled “It Is So Hard to Be Trans” be removed from a Herriman High School class’s curriculum after it was brought to the attention of administrators.

“We apologize to any student offended by a Herriman High School classroom assignment involving a New York Times student essay and the disruption to learning it may have caused,” district spokesperson Sandra Riesgraf said in a statement Monday.

The district investigated the assignment, “which asked students to break down parts of speech in the essay,” after school administrators were notified, Riesgraf said. The assignment was ultimately removed and is “no longer part of the class.”

“Appropriate administrative action will be taken,” the statement continued, though the statement did not specify what that action would entail.

The district also did not specify why the assignment was removed. The content does not seem to violate Utah’s sensitive materials law .

But it did seem to prompt outrage after photos of the printed-out, stapled essay made rounds in conservative social media circles as early as last Thursday, with some posts claiming students were required to write a response to the essay explaining why being transgender “isn’t a choice.”

Riesgraf said that claim was false. “Students were not required to take a stance or form an opinion on why being trans isn’t a choice,” Riesgraf said. “The assignment was to review the writing, not the subject.”

Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, weighed in on X , formerly Twitter, arguing that he didn’t see how the essay would “fit into any curriculum that is state approved.”

“I’ve asked the district to investigate,” he wrote.

McCay did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune.

The assigned essay had been selected as one of the Top 11 winners in a 2023 student editorial contest through the The Learning Network, a free resource for teachers curated by The New York Times.

It was written by then 16-year-old Callisto Lim, a student at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. The essay details why Callisto felt scared for their “right to exist,” citing several states that had passed anti-transgender legislation.

“I am scared that if I stay in Texas I will be denied the health care that I need because of people like Governor Greg Abbott,” Callisto wrote.

Callisto’s essay contains no explicit “pornographic or indecent material” that would make it illegal under Utah’s current sensitive materials law.

Utah law also does not explicitly prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, though lawmakers have made attempts to pass legislation banning such topics in the past.

Earlier this year, Rep. Jeff Stenquist , R-Draper, proposed a bill that would have prevented school officials from “endorsing, promoting, or disparaging certain beliefs or viewpoints,” building upon existing restrictions meant to uphold “constitutional freedom” in Utah public schools.

The bill would have specifically added “gender identity,” “sexual orientation,” and “political and social viewpoints” as restricted topics, but it ultimately failed to pass .

A year prior, Stenquist also ran a bill that would have prohibited any discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. HB550 took language directly from a controversial Florida bill that became more widely known as the “Don’t Say Gay” measure.

But after pushback from the LGBTQ community, Stenquist revised his draft , lifting the proposed ban on sexual orientation and gender identity but keeping the prohibition on sexuality. The bill failed to pass.

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Ontario school board investigating video showing comments staff member made towards student wearing a keffiyeh

A staff member at an Ontario school has been placed on home assignment after video of what the board is calling “harmful and discriminatory” language directed at a student wearing a keffiyeh surfaced online.

The incident, which took place at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, Ont., happened on April 26 in the school’s office.

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The video, which was shared by the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada (MACC), appears to show a student wearing a keffiyeh in conversation with the staff member as several students watch the exchange.

The garment is commonly worn by Arabs and Muslims but has also become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.

“I want you to be careful so you don’t get judged by that,” the staff member is heard saying to the student. “I said that. Did you not hear that?”

“I heard the part where you called me a terrorist,” the student says.

“That’s the only part you heard?” the staff member responds. “I didn’t call you a terrorist. I said it (the keffiyeh) reminds me of…” When the student asks the staff member if his garment reminds her of Hamas, the group Canada has labelled as a terrorist group since 2002, she says “yes.”

The MACC and Halton District School Board (HDSB) both called the incident “harmful and discriminatory” and said the staff member used anti-Palestinian racist language in her comments to the student.

“Reacting promptly, the board placed the educator on administrative leave and has initiated a comprehensive investigation to maintain a safe and supportive educational environment,” MACC said in a statement applauding the board’s actions.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the HDSB said: “Iroquois Ridge HS, along with all schools in the Halton District School Board (HDSB), strongly condemns this behaviour and are committed to upholding the Human Rights Code.”

The province’s education minister also weighed in on the video that’s been viewed almost 250,000 times, calling the comments “unacceptable and deeply offensive.”

“We expect education staff to model behaviour and create a learning environment where everyone belongs,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce told CTV News Toronto Monday morning.

“I am glad that Halton District School Board has taken swift action on this matter,” he said.

Keffiyeh ban remains at Queen’s Park

The black-and-white checkered scarf made headlines at Queen’s Park earlier this month after House Speaker Ted Arnott announced a ban on the garment , saying it had become akin to a political statement in recent months.

On Thursday, Arnott asked Independent MPP Sarah Jama to leave the chamber for wearing the keffiyeh. She did not leave, but was “named” for the day, meaning she could not vote on matters before the assembly.

The garment has been around for centuries, if not thousands of years, and has been increasingly seen at pro-Palestinian rallies following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.

Jama has said she has Palestinian relatives and that wearing the keffiyeh is the least she can do to show solidarity.

"The repression against Palestinians and the anti-Palestinian racism in this place (Queen’s Park) needs to continue to be called out," she said last week, adding that she will continue to continue to wear it.

All four provincial party leaders, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have called for the ban to be reversed. NDP Leader Marit Stiles has tried twice, but failed, to get unanimous consent to allow the garment in the House. Stiles said Friday she and her party plan to “defy” the ban when lawmakers return after 10-day break next week. 

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Agent Removed From Harris’s Detail After ‘Distressing’ Behavior

The Secret Service agent was removed during an incident on Monday morning shortly before Vice President Kamala Harris left for a campaign event in Wisconsin.

By Hamed Aleaziz and Jazmine Ulloa

A U.S. Secret Service agent was removed from Vice President Kamala Harris’s security detail this week after the officer “began displaying behavior their colleagues found distressing,” an agency spokesman said on Thursday.

The incident happened Monday morning at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, shortly before Ms. Harris left for a campaign event in Wisconsin. A New York Times reporter who was among the media members traveling with Ms. Harris heard medical personnel trying to calm a person down at the scene. The incident was earlier reported by The Washington Examiner .

“At approximately 9 a.m. April 22, a U.S. Secret Service special agent supporting the vice president’s departure from Joint Base Andrews began displaying behavior their colleagues found distressing,” the Secret Service spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement.

“The agent was removed from their assignment while medical personnel were summoned,” Mr. Guglielmi said. He added that Ms. Harris was at the Naval Observatory in Washington, where the vice president lives, during the incident and that “there was no impact on her departure from Joint Base Andrews.”

Secret Service officials did not provide any further information on the incident, saying only that it was a “medical matter.”

Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy. More about Hamed Aleaziz

Jazmine Ulloa is a national politics reporter for The Times, covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in Washington. More about Jazmine Ulloa

White Sox Designate Former Dodgers Outfielder for Assignment

Pillar is searching for a new club...

• Author: Jason Fray

In this story:

Baseball can be a cruel game.

Kevin Pillar knows this all too well. The journeyman outfielder has suited up for eight different ballclubs throughout his career (Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox).

Unfortunately, he'll be looking for club No. 9.

Kevin Pillar designated for assignment so White Sox can make room for Tommy Pham, sources tell @TheAthletic . — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 26, 2024

Ken Rosenthal reported that Pillar will be designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox. The plan for the Southsiders is to sign fellow veteran OF Tommy Pham.

Pillar spoke about his status with Foul Territory Show :

Pillar elaborated further:

Pillar was hitting .160 with one home run and four RBIs for the White Sox over the course of 17 games and 32 at-bats.

He previously played for the Dodgers in 2022 -- making appearances in only four games before fracturing his shoulder in a game versus the Pirates.

Pillar, 35, grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of West Hills.

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