PBS LearningMedia™️
How It Works
PBS LearningMedia™️ provides access to more than 100,000 videos, images, lesson plans, and articles organized by grade level, content, and standards.
How I’ve Used This Tool
In my junior and senior English classes, I utilized PBS LearningMedia’s Video Production: Behind the Scenes with the Pros. My students were assigned extended research projects in which they would choose a local business or person they thought was worthy of memorializing and create a short video that would include their own research and interviews of those connected to their subjects. PBS provides accessible tutorials on the pre-production of videos, interview techniques, audio suggestions, and editing instructions.
Caveats/Concerns
There is a paid version called PBS LearningMedia Custom that offers state-specific connection to standards, reporting analytics and tools, content management system features, and an enhanced content library.
Time I’ve Seen Success
Although I used the site to offer students access to documentaries as well as resources to analyze them, for my classes the most beneficial aspects of the site were the resources regarding video production, particularly the clips with interview advice. The short, easily accessible videos offer important strategies for students to consider as they are preparing to interview people. Practical procedures such as asking open-ended questions, coming to the interview prepared to listen and potentially veer off in other directions, and allowing the conversation to happen organically rather than simply reading off a list of pre-prepared questions were all very helpful strategies for my students. These speaking and listening techniques sometimes take a back seat to the reading and writing demands of an ELA course, but these skills are ones students recognize they’ll need to use on a daily basis in various aspects of their lives, and therefore are important ones to master. Since the clips are divided into specific skills, it was easy for me to differentiate, and assign particular sections of the site to groups that needed those instructions. Since the instructional videos are posted online, students could watch and rewatch them as many times as they needed to.
Scenarios for Use
- Whole group instruction
- Small group instruction
- Independent student work
- Instruction aligned to college and career readiness standards
