Multimedia Teaching with Video Clips: TV, Movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the College Classroom

How can video clips embedded in multimedia presentations be used to improve learning in college courses? To answer this question, a review of the theoretical and research evidence on videos and the brain is presented first. That is followed by a description of the theory of multimedia learning as it relates to videos and a review of studies using videos over the past four decades in college courses. The results of these studies and the verbal and visual components of a video potentially provide a best fit to the characteristics of this Net Generation of students and a valid approach to tap their multiple intelligences and learning styles. Concrete guidelines are given for using available video technology in the classroom, selecting appropriate video clips for any class, and applying those clips as a systematic teaching tool. The use of clips can also attain 20 specific learning outcomes. Toward that end, 12 generic techniques with examples to integrate video clips into teaching across the college curriculum are described.