From Alexander Koch

On Friday, 25.11.2022, we were once again able to welcome IQSH head of studies and teacher Melanie Borchers to the CAU. As in the previous semester, Ms. Borchers led a workshop for the students in English didactics, which focused on the creation of explanatory videos in and for English lessons. Right at the beginning, Melanie Borchers pointed out the relevance of videos in students’ everyday lives. According to the well-known JIM study, 90% of young people in Germany watch videos on popular internet platforms such as YouTube every day or several times a week. However, videos are not only watched by young people out of private interest, but are also used to learn for school and foreign-language (mostly English-language) videos in particular are among the most popular YouTube genres.

The production of own teaching and learning videos, whether by teachers or learners, promotes media competence, which is also becoming increasingly important in interdisciplinary educational standards. As most students conveniently carry high-quality image and sound recording devices in their pockets with their smartphones, the threshold for producing videos is very low nowadays. Furthermore, the creation of explanatory videos offers an authentic and profitable speaking opportunity for learners.

Thanks to the new hybrid teaching concept of English didactics, it was not only possible to attend the workshop in person, but 10 students were also given the opportunity to participate online. The transmission took place via a conference system through which the online participants could seamlessly follow the lecture, communicate with those physically present, participate in discussion phases and present results. Accompanied by theoretical input, quality criteria for explanatory videos were collaboratively developed and discussed. The video production process was then explained in conjunction with practical examples for future lessons. A particular focus was also placed on legal issues relating to the publication of videos, as copyright, personal rights and data protection must be observed here. This raised the students’ awareness of how to handle teaching and learning materials in a legally compliant manner, which in turn is an important goal of our project. To support the participants, Ms. Borchers recommended a number of helpful tools and sources for openly licensed images and sound recordings

In the final phase, the participants had time to independently test a tool of their choice in small groups with reference to what they had previously learned and to ask questions. This involved creating short sequences on a topic of their choice. With new knowledge, ideas and experience, the participants are now well equipped to produce explanatory videos for and with pupils.