Make YouTube a test! (EDpuzzle!)

In today's online world, there is a vast ocean of educational resources. A large amount of those resources are in the form of a YouTube video. Instead of discouraging the use of YouTube via internet filters,(like many schools do) EDpuzzle encourages using YouTube in an educational way. EDpuzzle is a classroom-like resource used by teachers that provides students with a class lesson using YouTube videos.

How does EDpuzzle work?

EDpuzzles are created by a teacher for the students. A no-cost account is required by both the student and the teacher to access the EDpuzzle. 

On the teacher homescreen  in order to create an EDpuzzle, a search on YouTube for videos is provided. Teachers can select a video for students and trim the video to the desired lengths and materials. 

As EDpuzzle states, trimming videos is a great feature because it reduces the amount of time spent by students watching irrelevant material having nothing to  do with the lesson.

The next step in creating an EDpuzzle is recording a soundtrack. This allows a teacher to teach the lesson to a student alongside a video. A student can access the teacher's voice at home or in the classroom. In addition, since everyone works at different paces, the student can rewind and hear/ watch the video again for a better understanding.

Another feature a teacher can also utilize in an EDpuzzle is notes. An audio note or a little comment which appears when the student is watching an education video can be very useful.

The last simple step to creating an EDpuzzle is making a quiz! Quiz questions can be multiple choice or open-ended. The teacher will choose a specific spot to freeze the video and ask a simple question. Below is an EDpuzzle quiz I created:

The correct answer is the first choice, "No. The person should be running to a safe, secure location". The EDpuzzle quiz will automatically score multiple choice answers for the teacher and leave open-ended corrections for the teacher's discretion. A student can only take a quiz once and a score is calculated based on how many correct answers the student has given. This can serve as an actual quiz given by teachers.

The teacher can make an EDpuzzle classroom where all students can join via an invite code. 

EDpuzzle is a great tool because it provides teachers with great flexibility. The teacher has the ability to select important sections of a YouTube video, provide audio commentary and create self graded quizzes for students. Instead of blocking YouTube entirely, EDpuzzle provides teachers with the ability to allow students to use YouTube free of other distractions in an educational way.