Time is one of the most precious resources in education. Every time a feature is added that shortens the learning curve, accelerates the creative process, or reduces the number of unnecessary steps needed to get something to done, we hear positive feedback from the education community. So we are excited to introduce a feature that does all of those things!
Templates for education are the latest enhancement to WeVideo for Schools. This new feature joins a growing list of enhancements such as WeVideo Essentials™, which puts hundreds of thousands of creative assets at a user’s fingertips, and JumpStart™, which enables you to get to work right away without waiting for assets to upload to the Cloud.
Account owners and administrators of WeVideo for Schools accounts can now create templates to share with their entire population of users. Users also have access to a set of all-new inspirational templates created by WeVideo.
Rather than starting with a blank timeline, templates provide the option to work from a pre-made foundation that guides students and teachers through creating a video for a lesson or project. It provides a framework for projects with WeVideo, without limiting creativity and potential for demonstrating learning.
Empowering Teachers
Introducing a new edtech tool can feel daunting for educators. Naturally, we want our educators to feel confident and prepared before introducing WeVideo to their class. Tech integrators in schools can use WeVideo templates to instill that confidence in teachers who are new to video creation. With a template at the ready, teachers who are new to WeVideo can quickly set up projects for their classrooms even while they themselves are still learning the tool.
Templates are also a great way for tech integrators to meet the professional development needs of teachers. A tech coach could, prior to a training session, create a template and pair it with a prepared set of content assets. This eliminates the need to spend time on workspace setup and creates an effective training environment in which each teacher can work on the same project at the same time.
Greg Lawrence, Director of Technology for the Wentzville School District, is excited about the new templates. He said, “The ability for an administrator to make and share templates creates consistency across the district, and teachers know that the templates are vetted because they’re either created at the district level or provided by WeVideo.”
Helping students succeed
Students are typically enthusiastic to get started with video creation, but it can be overwhelming for teachers to attempt new technical skills while in the midst of supporting students as they master new material. Templates help keep students focused on making informed content choices that demonstrate learning by freeing them from the distractions of video production decisions.
Even with the more advanced video creators in our classrooms, templates can provide a scaffold for the learning process, giving students guidelines that pair with particular academic rubrics. This can also be helpful when it comes to assessment, providing a consistent tool within which students can research, iterate, develop ideas, and present with confidence. Teachers with admin access can develop templates for classroom use, or they can work with their account administrator to develop and share templates with all classes in the account.
Dana La Chapelle, a teacher in Elk Grove, California, shared how she plans to implement templates in her 7-8th grade video production class: “I ask my students to document or vlog about their process after completing a project. With a clean and structured template, I’m more likely to get the type of work I want from my students rather than trying to explain what was in my head and hoping they get it.”
Ready to get started with templates?
Below is a preview of some of the templates that teachers and students can access. These templates are provided by WeVideo and can be used as a starting point for student projects. If you're already using WeVideo for Schools, here are some quick tips that can help you get started with templates. (And if you’re not already using WeVideo, start your free teacher trial today to explore templates and more!)
Share your understanding
The newly added book report template is designed to support students in structuring the elements of a book report (setting, characters, tone, reflection) into a video while simultaneously encouraging them to develop their communication skills through storytelling with music, and timing elements to create the right mood and impact. The template includes embedded tips to guide students through the process.
Demonstrate school pride
From morning announcements to the year-in-review, templates are a great way to provide polish and consistency to school communications. The newscast template saves students time because they won’t have to recreate elements from videos that are produced frequently or consistently. This keeps students focused on the fun and engaging aspects of the video production process such as working with peers and developing great content. The newscast template is an excellent resource for journalism and media classes, and can also be useful in subject-area courses such as Social Studies, ELA, Math and Science by providing a dynamic way for students to demonstrate their understanding of a topic or skill.
Showcase your learning
Learning is enhanced when students can document and reflect on their understanding, not to mention the increased sense of joy and accomplishment students feel in seeing and sharing a finished video product. The new student portfolio template is available in storyboard format and provides a guided framework to help younger students do just that! It’s a great introduction to structuring the content of their first video.
How could you use templates in your classroom or school? Do you have an idea for a template that would be really useful for you and/or your students? Share your template ideas.
Submissions may be shared via the WeVideo product, social media, email, and more, so please ensure that you have any necessary releases and permissions for us to publish and share your inspiring template ideas.
