3 Media Resources to Use in the Classroom

Over the years, I’ve heard colleagues talk about how valuable some media resources are in the classroom, and it all sounded nice enough. However, once I implemented these tools in my own classroom, I started to fully understand how valuable- and handy- these resources can really be in reaching this generation’s college students.

Khan Academy or khanacademy.org

I’m so jealous of math, business, science, arts and humanities, and computing professors.

The instructors of the above-mentioned classes are the ones who get to use this collection of amazing Khan Academy videos and interviews to help teach concepts in a fun, engaging way to their students.

Khan Academy is a pretty young organization, but they’ve become popular in colleges, and I believe they’re really changing education for the better.

One video I feel any instructor or student can especially connect with is CEO of Burberry, Angela Ahrendts interview in the ‘Entrepreneur’ section of the website.

She talks about the importance of being passionate for the work that you do, and it’s an overall inspiring conversation- plus, she gives a nice overview of what Khan Academy’s all about while sitting with the founder, Sal Khan.

TED and TEDx

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is an absolute goldmine for all professors.

Not only are the talks perfect for communication and public speaking classes, but the concepts talked about are so varied that any professor in any department can find numerous videos or clips to help punctuate long lectures during the semester.

In my classes, I normally pause TED videos every few minutes to discuss the content with my students- I can actually see them painstakingly trying not to yell out their opinions while the video is playing, so the discussion is usually a very involved, quality one.

It’s exactly what every teacher hopes for.

If you’ve ever looked for a way to get students involved, TED is the answer. Sometimes it’s my best way to get the shy students talking.

You can find the talks on TED.com and they’re also on YouTube.com.

YouTube

I know this resource is pretty vague, but it deserves some attention.

I use YouTube in the classroom to share relevant movie and TV show clips, great speeches from students at other schools, and there are also short educational videos to add to lectures.

Over the years I’ve stumbled across some great ‘how to’ videos for speeches, including some really concise and useful YouTube segments from speech coach Darren LaCroix.

If you type in some search words along the lines of what you’re looking for (as an instructor in any field), you won’t be at a loss for some excellent options.

If you’d like to learn more about classroom resources and how to keep your students motivated, check in with new posts weekly at happyprofessor.com or take a look at my Kindle ebook, Happy Professor on Amazon.com (if you can find a free copy, even better).