What is EdPuzzle?

EdPuzzle is a web based platform that allows a teacher to share videos with students (or vice versa), and requires students to more actively engage with the content. The videos below introduce how the platform works. I find it helpful in my classes, rather than students passively just watching videos, there are functions in this program that allow me as a teacher to monitor understanding and provide feedback in real time. The video below provides a short introduction:

How do I use EdPuzzle in my classroom?

eLearning Tools are tools for learning and are only as good as they are implemented by the teacher. Therefore, it is important to realize that EdPuzzle is not a "silver bullet" and you need to think about the implementation of how you use this in your classroom as a learning strategy. For instance, EdPuzzle is useful at the start of a topic for students to engage with new material, and could be required to answer multiple choice questions (they cannot progress until they have given a response for instance) based on the video they have been watching (the added advantage is that students can replay sections of the video they are unsure about). There is a great library of content which is helpful between departments and many other teachers around the world have created other videos that are often of high quality. Moving forward, in the middle phases of inquiry, EdPuzzle is useful at building greater understanding of content. Additionally, aim for shorter videos with a mix of different questions (to increase engagement and motivation) , quite useful for revision of material learnt.

Practically:

1. EdPuzzle requires students to login (asking students to use their school account is a good idea)
2. You assign your students videos or tasks in a EdPuzzle class. This provides a Class Code. Write this on the board. There is a little work here to manage this and requires ongoing management with new classes.
3. Share the link to your class - Google Classroom is an easy plugin/ otherwise you can email or paste the link elsewhere for students to access the content.
4. Monitor progress, through the My Classes page, this updates live and you can provide feedback to individual students. Students often respond very positively to this corporate feedback.

The slides below were presented to a whole staff Professional Learning session. The Slides also include a brief explanation of Google "My Maps" , which is also part of the GAFE suite - highly relevant to Social Studies and Geography - but also useful in other contexts.

The video below provides a short tutorial (created in 2016, some of the features have changed) that provides a more in-depth overview of how to use Google My Maps.