Many teachers know that building relationships with students is key to starting off on the right foot. But why wait until students are in your classroom to begin that relationship? This summer why not create a welcome back video message that lets students and parents know who you are and what to expect in your class. Continue reading for a step-by-step guide to creating a welcome back video.
Write Your Script
The first step in creating any kind of video content is to write a script. It doesn’t need to be formal and may be just a bullet list of points to remember as you film, but thinking ahead and organizing what you want to include in your message will make the overall process much easier. Here are some ideas you may want to include:
- Your name and what you teach
- A little bit about yourself (i.e. college attended, hobbies, etc.)
- What you are looking forward to for the upcoming year
- What students can expect to learn
- Your expectations (i.e. classroom rules, arrive to class on time, etc.)
Your introduction video does not need to be long, about 1 – 3 minutes in length. If you need more inspiration, do a quick search on YouTube to see what other teachers have done. You can also watch this sample video I created using Adobe Spark Post during a course I took with the Adobe Education Exchange:
Visuals
Next, think about visuals to add engagement. Depending on the software you use to edit your video you can add a title slide with your name or create one using PowerPoint or Google Slides and saving/downloading as a .jpeg or .png image. You may also want to include a professional picture of yourself.
Editing Tools
Finally, consider which editing tool you will use to edit your video once you have finished filming. Having an idea of which tool to use before you film can help you with decisions during the filming process. For example, both WeVideo and Flipgrid will allow you to use a web camera and film right inside the software with no need to transfer or upload video footage as you would need to do with Adobe Spark Video. If you’re not sure which tool to use, refer back to my post on 11 Video Editing Programs to use with Projects.
Filming
Now, you’re ready to film! I suggest finding a quiet, well lit area to film your video in. You could do this at home or in your classroom, or somewhere within your school. You may also want to consider using a green screen and be able to change your background to appear anywhere in the world! In most cases, you can use the web camera built in to your laptop or an attached web camera to film. You can also use your phone or a video camera.
Remember to speak clearly and with a regular pace. Again depending on what your camera situation is, you may need to speak a little louder than normal for the camera to pick up your voice. I suggest doing a test shoot first to make sure the microphone picks up your voice and the setting for filming is what you imagined it would be.
Once you’re done filming, you can edit your message and add in title slides, transition effects, pictures, and music.
Sharing the Finished Product
Now you have a completed video and need to share it! This could, again, depend on the video editing tool you chose, but uploading your video to YouTube is probably the easiest way to share your finished product. You can make the video unlisted and share the URL address making sure only those with the URL can access the video. You may even want to consider creating your own YouTube Channel and continue adding videos throughout the year. Your completed video can also be embedded or shared to your LMS or Google Classroom.
You may also choose to create your video in Flipgrid and get to know your students ahead of time too. When you create a new grid, one of the automatic topics created with it is named “Introductions”. You can edit this topic, and add your video (or record it) under the resources section. Students can watch your video and then respond sharing their introductions. In the description area, include directions and some guiding questions for students’ responses such as: what is your favorite food, what is something fun you did this summer, how do you best like to learn, or something you would like to accomplish this school year.
Most importantly, remember to have fun with your video and let it be the tool to beginning your school year with your new students! Please feel free to leave links to your finished videos below in the comments!
Ms Priester EDU 