K12

Innovation in K12 Education: Overcoming Challenges With Video in the Classroom

A roundtable featuring Eileen Belastock from Belastock Consulting

Curious about how to overcome the challenges of using video technology in the classroom?

Moderated by Eileen Belastock, edtech strategist, former K12 CTO, and CEO of Belastock Consulting, this recorded event offers a chance to hear from your peers the challenges and best practices associated with using video technology in the classroom to enhance student and teacher learning.

SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT

Erin Grubbs:

I’m going to get us started. Hopefully, we’ll get a few more people to join us for this conversation that we’re having today. Hello and welcome to the Roundtable on overcoming challenges with video in the classroom. We’re thrilled that you’re joining us and hope that you enjoy and can participate in our discussion and walk away prepared to tackle the challenges you’re facing.

My name is Erin Grubbs. I’m head of marketing here at GoReact. And for those of you not familiar with GoReact and why this topic is so important to us, GoReact is a video feedback solution that’s taken our experience of over 10 years and helping higher ed institutions with student skill development to now helping school district support teacher growth with that same technology. And we’re excited to be partnered with one of my favorite tech experts, Eileen Belastock, who’s an ed tech [inaudible] and CEO at EdTech Consulting, former CTO.

Before I hand it over to Eileen to introduce herself, I was going to go through a few points of housekeeping. Today’s event is meant to be a discussion, so we’re hoping this can be as interactive as possible. As we’re asking the questions, you can use the raise your hand feature to participate and we’ll be able to take you off mute so you can contribute your thoughts, experience, or ask any questions that you have. We’ll also have that chat open as well. And if you haven’t already, go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell us where you’re from, what your role is, and throughout the discussion if you have any links or resources that you want to share, use that chat feature as well. And in addition, if you experience any technical difficulties, please use the chat to reach out to us.

We are recording today’s session, so if you need to hop off before we finish or you want to share the recording with a colleague, we will email the recording over to you. Without further ado, I’m going to hand it over to Eileen to introduce herself and get us started.

Eileen Belastock:

Hi, good morning or afternoon. I’m in Texas for the TCEA Conference. I’m actually in my hotel room. I apologize for the bad lighting. I am a former high school principal math teacher, CTO and I recently transitioned into my own consulting company. But I have worked in all the roles in a school district and really understand how important video has been pre pandemic, during pandemic and post pandemic. I think this is a really important topic that we’re talking about today and we’d love to have you participate in the discussion and learn more about what you’re doing in your district.

Erin Grubbs:

Awesome. Thanks Eileen. I thought I would get us started with just talking about since the pandemic, video was such a huge role then, but we know districts are still using that in the classroom and in development purposes for teachers. How do you see districts using video technology in the classroom? And if anybody wants to jump in after Eileen gives her thoughts, please raise your hand and we’ll pull you up.

Eileen Belastock:

I think the pandemic really pushed the video communication really strong into classrooms. And I think what we’re finding is that the need for it is not going away. Teachers are using it to engage students. They’re using it to connect to other experts in their field. Students are using it to actually create their own videos, use them as communication tools. I mean, it’s been a lot of really strong uses of it in the classroom.

One of my things was much like everybody else, okay, we’re going back in the classroom. We don’t need this technology. We don’t need everybody using headphones. My elementary school teachers pushed back and said, “Yes we do because we’re still using the tools that we were using during the pandemic because they were so impactful in instruction.” I’d love to hear from someone else on their thoughts on what they’re doing with video communication in their classroom.

Erin Grubbs:

Remember to use the raise your hand feature and we’ll be able to pull you off of mute so you can let us know how you’re using video technology. Don’t be shy guys. Looks like we’ve got Delores raising her hand.

Delores Harlan:

There we go. Good morning guys.

Erin Grubbs:

Morning.

Eileen Belastock:

Good morning.

Delores Harlan:

Video technology, it’s something I used as a teacher, as a principal, and then in my current role it’s changed over the years and I’m glad to see more and more people incorporating video. My school district’s a little bit different. We’re more of a hybrid model where we do lots and lots of stuff virtually, but we also see students elbow to elbow. Many families choose the virtual only option, so that’s a different conversation.

But as far as my role incorporating video, I don’t work directly with students and families, but I am a supportive layer with the principal and the teacher and I love to meet families to see what it’s like out there and supporting the teacher, what it feels like to be on the frontline. And so it’s very important to be immersed as much as I can with students and families.

And so what I often do is I put together just a little video to remind parents that I’m here as a supportive administrator just in the lives of their families. Just a one-minute video. Sometimes I do longer, but so often people don’t really watch too much of a video if it’s too long, so I try to be short and to the point and precise and not very wordy, but yet personable to describe what the purpose of the video is, if it’s a reminder of something. We have state testing coming up, little tidbits like that of what’s coming and planting those seeds. And then a longer video, for example, for state testing, that’s on my plan just to remind parents of so many tips and tricks to prepare students for state testing.

I encourage my principals to do videos as well just to immerse themselves into the lives of the family much more so than myself because they do need to be that strong, supportive and directive in many cases, presence for students and families. The video is just one more component of how to get your face out there and make those connections and build the relationships as well as communicate.

Eileen Belastock:

And I agree with you. I think you made a good point that it’s not just for the classroom. It’s for the administrators, it’s for the principals and sometimes it’s even for the teachers. I think it’s a great way for, like you said, showing your face, keeping it very succinct, but sending a message that especially we talk about people coming in for open houses and assemblies, I think video has really changed our outreach to be able to reach a lot more parents and community members because they don’t have to actually attend an event. They can hear it with the video whenever it works for them. I mean, you probably have seen it, the snow days. The principals have gotten very creative with their snow day announcements and they’re doing a lot of those little videos. I agree with you. It’s very impactful not only in the classroom but at a community level as well.

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, that’s great. Does anybody else have any other examples of how you’re using video? I think we’re seeing not only at the communication, I think to the community, but also some collaboration throughout the district and best practice sharing. Does anyone else have anything you want to share?

Eileen Belastock:

I think it’s me and you, Delores.

Delores Harlan:

And that’s great. I wanted to share one other idea that we are playing around with. In my district, we are considering doing some type of virtual … If you hear my dog in the background, I’m so sorry. We are home today and she’s all over the place.

We’re doing a virtual type, high school gathering. We call it a PLC for just college and career readiness. And we’re thinking about doing some things virtually where we have presenters. Now we could do it live. I’ve done it once where presenters are live. Of course, we are recording that type of presentation. But I think what we may consider from our control is to have presenters from local businesses and such do a little short video. We could put all of these things together on a Flipgrid where the parent or the student could click on the video to learn more about what does a resume look like? Why is a resume important? And just hearing from business owners about what does a business owner look for and what does that whole process look like? And just different tidbits.

We’ve talked about having a state trooper. I’ve been in contact with one who said that he could put together a little video about what it would be like to be a state trooper. What even goes into that? What schooling do you need? What discipline do you need? Just hearing from business owners and such about what careers look like as well as processes to be college, career and citizenship ready.

Eileen Belastock:

Excellent. I’m going to call out somebody on this call, Danielle. Danielle and I presented at FETC, but I would be interested to see if Danielle would like to speak on this topic as well. We put her on the spot. She might not be able to talk right now. You want to move to the next question?

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, that sounds great. The next question that I wanted to talk through is obviously using video in the classroom poses some challenges. We figured some of that out during the pandemic, but I think we’re still dealing with that. What are some of those challenges and specifically related to accessibility and digital equity, and how are we looking for solutions to solve those challenges?

Eileen Belastock:

For me, digital equity and accessibility have been what I really focus on when we’re talking about video communication in the classroom. And I think one of the big things we learned from the pandemic is how do we use video with students who have accommodations such as hearing issues or visual issues? And even language barriers, how do we make sure that all our students are connecting with the video? It was a big shift for us, not for us to realize that we’re missing a whole population of students where English may not be their first language as well. I think it’s really important that have closed captioning, that we have translation available, that we provide our students with the hearing and visual aids that they need in order to participate. Because those students, I felt kind of got left aside early on in the pandemic and I know we’re still talking about the pandemic, but there’s so many great things came out of that, including how to make sure that every student has access to whatever is being used in the classroom or at home.

And as Delores said, communication with parents. You need to have it translatable. You need to have closed captioned, all those things that we probably weren’t as aware of as we should have been years ago.

Erin Grubbs:

Nice. If anybody wants to come up and share their challenges that you’ve been solving for, just raise your hand on that.

I think one of the things that we see, we’re on a different side of it, is more on the student privacy side of things. Having students in the video and commenting that potentially using the waivers or the background blurs. Eileen, is there anything from your side that you’ve seen that have been best practices there that people are using on the privacy side of it?

Eileen Belastock:

Well, that’s a whole other issue and it became a big concern, especially as a CTO regarding the recording of students. Zoom had a jump on this pretty quickly when we all went to Zoom meetings and Google Meets and realizing that we can’t be recording students, we can’t be recording their voices, we can’t be recording their faces. I think it was a big shift for us to start educating our teachers. It’s okay, record a Google Meet classroom lesson, but you have to make sure the recording is stopped when a student is being recorded.

We also want to make sure that those recordings are held in a very secure spot within our own domain, that they can’t be shareable outside of our domain. There’ve been a lot of situations, especially as a high school principal and Delores might be able to relate to this as you have these permission slips that go out in the beginning of the year, my child can or opt out issues, opt out options for students who don’t want to be videotaped or recorded for a variety of reasons.

But during the year, those things can change. Parents could be going through a terrible divorce or they could be in a situation where it’s not safe for their child to be around certain people. And so we have to constantly be looking at those permissions and every time we’re doing anything that students are being recorded that we make sure that we reach out to parents again and let them know and say, “Here is what we’re doing in class. We need to know that you are okay with this, with an out option.” And we sometimes forget that. We think that list at the beginning of the year is going to take care of it, but as a principal, so many things change during the year for students and it’s not safe for a lot of students.

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, I think that’s definitely a lot of the same concerns that we’re hearing in the conversations that we’re having. Not to pick on Delores, but Delores, do you have anything on your side that you’re dealing with and want to share with the group?

Delores Harlan:

Oh, this is one of my favorite topics, so I love talking about video. Yes, I definitely took notes on what you stated about being translatable, closed captions, and then of course the student policy. And Eileen, you brought to us today a really good reminder to check back in with those families because things can change. That’s definitely noted. How many times a year would you suggest to do that type of check-in?

Eileen Belastock:

I’ve been telling my teachers at least we should be doing that anytime we’re dealing with a big project. Maybe three times a year, maybe after every quarter, every semester, just checking in with parents and saying, “We’re doing these projects this semester, we’re using these apps this year. Please let us know if these are okay.” But I think constant check-ins with parents are great. I’m not asking teachers to do it every time they do it, but I would just do three times a year, just send out that information back out to parents. And I think it’s more should be more focused at the teacher level because there could be projects that may require the permissions where other ones may not. I would think it would be more at the teacher level. What do you think, Delores?

Delores Harlan:

Yeah, I really like that. That gives that teacher empowerment and just that local control there within the teacher’s realm to have those interactions back and forth. I try those types of things coming from the teacher specifically. Then the parent knows that’s my direct line. I go to that teacher first and this is my opinion. It helps keep that relationship strong and that communication strong where the family doesn’t feel like they need to jump ahead, jump to the principal or another administrator to have those types of conversations.

Eileen Belastock:

I agree. And even this is off topic, but even surveys. We’re supposed to be notifying parents every time we send out a survey. We either raise that at the district building or classroom level. I think it’s always important to have that communication with parents regarding things like surveys and video and cameras.

Erin Grubbs:

Nice. Does anyone else want to jump in and continue the conversation about some of the challenges you’re having with video or how you’re dealing with some of those challenges? Just remember, you can use the raise your hand feature or if you’re really too shy, feel free to use the chat feature and we can all follow along there.

Well in the meantime, I think Eileen, we’ll move on to the next question and if we get anybody else that wants to hop in there, we can do that. But one of the ways that we think we’re seeing video being used in addition to the student side of things is really helping with teacher growth just because there is such a limited time to really ensure that they’re prepared and to mentor them and coach them. What are you seeing as it relates to video there?

Eileen Belastock:

Well, I think this has changed dramatically. There’s no more of teachers sitting in the auditorium or the cafeteria and being talked at regarding professional development. I think much like what we done for our students, I think it’s become more personalized. I think it’s become more of an opportunity for teachers to be sitting in a classroom getting professional development together so they can collaborate. I think it’s definitely changed the game for professional development. Teachers, much like students need to learn at their own pace. Voice and choice is very important for our teachers as well. And I think from what I’m seeing in the industry, that has completely changed. While that face-to-face is very important for all of us, I think this has provided us opportunities to be able to expand our understanding of the educational field, to learn best practices and to grow within our own organization and without.

I think it’s also created an opportunity for us to network and have conversations with people from Oklahoma and Texas and California and Massachusetts, which is where I’m from. It’s a great opportunity to build that really strong network of colleagues where we can learn from. I love that this has changed.

I have a quick story of, I remember when I was a teacher, there was a presentation. We’re all in the auditorium, and it was about how not to use PowerPoint to teach and the whole presentation, she used PowerPoint. It’s like we can’t have those anymore. Teachers do not. They demand a lot better. And I think this online professional development with video is great. I’ve also seen where teachers can actually videotape themselves in a classroom and how that is changing how they interact with their superintendents, their principals, and whoever their supervisor is, or even as a pair collaboration where they all take turns videotaping themselves, and then they have discussions to see how they can better their instruction and better their practices. It’s been a game changer.

But one thing I want to say is you got to be careful about any time you’re doing this in a classroom, going back to data privacy, if you’re videotaping a teacher, remember, you can’t videotape the students. That goes back to that data privacy. But definitely it’s been a game changer and if I was still a principal, I would definitely be jumping on all this.

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, I was just actually recently talking to a teacher lead and just as simple as she has to go and give teacher demonstrations repeatedly with the teachers that she’s mentoring. Being able to do some time savings and record that teacher demonstration and then share it with those that she’s mentoring rather than having to go out of the classroom, either the new teacher or the teacher lead and just that incredible time savings that they’re getting there. Delores, are you using video in any way to support the teachers?

Delores Harlan:

Oh, yes. Again, big fan. Going back to training over the years, many, many years ago, I was an instructional coach in my district and my friend and I, my partner and I were the first two hired in that district from a classroom teacher to that role. And boy, it took some transition to get the buy-in for recording teachers teaching. But my goodness, it helps so much for a teacher to be able to see his or her body language, their tone, their words, did they stay on track.

Something we’ve learned, this is nothing new and preaching to the choir here in speaking of this, but something that helped us embrace it in that district since teachers, they became a little bit nervous and could even be concerned or territorial about a video in their classroom of their teaching. What we would do is in order to help with the buy-in is they could just observe themselves in their own video. The instructional coach or co-teacher or friend, colleague could set up the video camera or the phone for that teacher to just view his or her own video.

And that is a process in itself, maybe not so much these days because we are all inundated with videos now, but this was years ago. And so it took a little bit for a teacher to embrace watching themselves on video and they had to get over their voice. They had to get over their look and get past all of that. And of course, watch it more than once because the first watch, you’ll just be focusing in on your voice, your look, the eye roll, oh my goodness, why did I say that? That type of thing. You have to watch it again, or maybe even a third time so you’re really looking at the meat of the lesson and truly hearing the words and did you do some different things that were highly effective in that lesson? What were they? What didn’t work? What would you do different? And just having those reflections personal perhaps. And then when ready or when needed by the district, partnering with the instructional coach, the admin, other colleagues to grow from that through those reflections and observations. And it’s a process, but my goodness, it’s eye-opening.

Eileen Belastock:

I don’t know if you did it in your pre-service program, but I remember when I was getting my teacher certification that we had to be videotaped and that was the most uncomfortable thing I had ever done, but it was very helpful for me to change the way I said things. Even my mannerisms were important. And I think you’re absolutely right.

But I think another point we should focus on is your admin assistants in the buildings or your paraprofessionals. I mean, we have professional development days for our teachers, but our building administrative assistants don’t have that opportunity to participate. Having that recorded allows them to do it when they have time. And they’re the ones who we tend to keep out of professional development, especially around technology, and they use it every day as well. I think we have to also think of not just classroom teachers, but our admin assistants, our paraprofessionals, and even our building principals. It’s definitely a very powerful tool. And I still hate seeing myself videotaped. Delores, I don’t know about you.

Delores Harlan:

I’m over it now. I’m over it. I’ve been through all the emotions and it’s funny, you can turn a corner and really start embracing it. And now I love videos. I’m a very open advocate for videos and in my district now, which I’ve stated is a hybrid district, we do a lot of things by Zoom, and we are all pretty much accustomed to recording or Google Meet or whatever type of virtual setting. We do a lot of recording.

And so something that we can do, and we do, teachers and admin, is sometimes you go back and just watch your own recordings through Zoom or whatever means it is and do the same type of thing. As an admin, when I’m interacting with principals or others, I’m still doing that same critique. Am I listening? Am I actively listening? What were my words and response? Did I provide a timely and appropriate type of response? Whatever it might be, just that self-critique, and we can do that for each other. One of you had talked about partnering up with someone and spending a few minutes interacting with each other’s videos and what worked well and what did you notice? Those types of takeaways are so important.

Eileen Belastock:

Now are your teachers finding that they’re getting more comfortable with it too?

Delores Harlan:

Yes, absolutely. They are. And I don’t know who all’s participating, but I’ve invited some folks from my district to join us, so I’d love to hear any of their feedback too. But yes, I do believe that. Again, in this district, it’s an expectation that there’s lots and lots of recordings out there, a little bit different than a traditional brick and mortar setting because it is part of the expectation here. We have to do some different types of recordings. We have structures in place for that and conversations in place and those types of things. Parent interaction and awareness of what is being recorded. But yeah, it’s definitely an awesome tool to help learn about your leadership and just your presence.

Eileen Belastock:

I may want to follow up with you after this.

Delores Harlan:

Sure, absolutely.

Eileen Belastock:

Sounds like you’re doing some great work around this topic in your district.

Delores Harlan:

Thank you.

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, thank you so much for your contributions. We’d love if anybody else wants to hop on or even if you have other questions for Eileen or Delores, since she’s sharing so much, you can feel free to use chat or raise your hand.

But as we do wind down, I wanted to mention if this is a topic that you’re interested in, obviously Eileen is available to help. We’re working with her on a blog article in the coming weeks on some of these best practices and tips that she’s seen work for other districts that she’s collaborating with. Watch for that in the next couple weeks. I don’t know, Eileen, anything that you want to close out with before we close up?

Eileen Belastock:

Well, yes. I think this is a really important topic that got a lot of attention during the pandemic, but it’s still a very important topic. And I think as we move into a different way of accessing our learning for our students, I think this will continue to be a big topic. And I really like the twists or the turn to using it as professional development for our teachers. I think that’ll be a game changer, I think, for a lot of our teachers. And I’m hoping that with all the teacher shortages, this might actually support our teachers in the classroom and keep them feeling like they have opportunities to grow within their own profession.

Erin Grubbs:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you, Eileen, for helping us moderate this session and thank you, Delores for participating and everyone else for listening in. We hope you got a lot of valuable information out of this and we hope to see you on a future GoReact webinar. Have a great rest of your week. Thank you guys.

Eileen Belastock:

Thank you.