Technology is a vital part of the education system, especially online applications. We use iPads to complete school work, teachers use Canvas to log students’ grades, and in August of 2023, LZHS administered its first online PSAT/SAT. Therefore, it is inevitable that other online educational resources have emerged both in and outside of the classroom.
Some teachers, such as Victoria Foss, social studies teacher, use educational videos in the classroom to support their students’ learning.
“As a [social studies teacher], we often get teased for showing movies all day but in all seriousness, there is a great visual element that helps students to better connect with the material that’s been discussed,” Foss said.
According to Foss, educational videos are a great way to keep students engaged by switching up the way in which they are receiving information.
“Personally, it’s a rare occasion where I am at the board lecturing, and I think we’ve shifted away from that model of [teaching as a whole],” Foss said. “We want to make [our lessons] an authentic and interactive [experience] for students [and online resources can help with that].”
Overall, Foss believes that “[educational videos give] the opportunity to reinforce [course material] and [are] a great tool to bring into the classroom.”
A YouTube channel popular for their educational content is Heimler’s History. With over 500k subscribers, Heimler aims to “help students of AP U.S. History, AP World History, and AP Government build the confidence and skills they need to get an A in their class and a five on their AP Exam” with his videos. Courtney Morrison, senior, has used Heimler’s History to study for both AP World and AP U.S. History.
“I heard about [Heimler’s History] through friends and teachers,” Morrison said. “I love how clear and simple his explanations are and he uses a lot of humor and pneumonic devices to help really get the information down.”
Morrison found that, as an auditory learner, Heimler’s History helped her build a stronger understanding of memory of the content. Additionally, she noticed that Heimler’s History was more “organized and professional” than other channels on Youtube and that overall, he covered more of the course material, which made his channel a good “refresher before the AP test.”
“He has some really good videos breaking down how to do well on certain aspects of the test, such as DBQs and the MCQ that are super easy to understand,” Morrison said. “I would absolutely recommend Heimler to any students in AP [history courses]. His videos have been immensely helpful to me.”
However, it is not just Heimler’s videos that Morrison appreciates; she believes that educational resources are beneficial to students’ learning all around.
“Free access to education is never a bad thing and a lot of these channels [like Heimler’s] put a lot of effort and time into these videos, and they almost always have qualifications to back them up,” Morrison said. “[And] sometimes it’s nice to have multiple sources of information that help with retention. […] There’s really nothing not to like.”
