The internet is an excellent source of material for teachers. If you are a teacher, you may already use it extensively for planning your own lessons. One of the best things about the internet is that you can now watch videos with ease. Broadband speeds continue to increase each year, making video content very easy to access.

Videos can play an important role in the classroom, whatever subject you are teaching. And there is no bigger resource of free videos than YouTube. Here are some of the ways that you could put YouTube to use in the classroom.

Get Endless Lesson Ideas

YouTube is a vast website containing millions upon millions of videos. Endless videos are uploaded every single day by both professional content producers and amateurs, and this means it is an excellent source of ideas and inspiration for planning your lessons. Browse through the website for topics of interest and you may well find that the videos provide you with ideas for planning your lessons.

Make Your Lessons More Lively

Alternatively, find videos that complement your lesson plans. Videos can really help to bring a lesson to life, and this is particularly true if you are teaching a subject that is may not be inspiring to all your students.

Your students will enjoy watching a video, and because of the vast number of videos, you may be able to find one that is suitable to the age of your students. You may come across videos that take unique and interesting angles on a topic that you had previously not considered, and this can encourage your students to think differently.

Use Videos for Homework

You could provide your students with a link to a video that you have found on YouTube that they can then use to complete their homework. If your students don’t like completing their homework, this can help to get them more enthusiastic.

Of course, some students may not have access to the internet, so make sure that the video is not essential in order to complete the homework.

Are You Connected?

One problem with YouTube is that you need to be connected to the internet to watch the videos. This is fine if you have a connection in the classroom, but what if something goes wrong with the connection or you don’t have one in the first place? If you don’t have a backup plan then your whole lesson could be put at risk.

One option is to download a video to watch later on your device even when you are not connected to the internet. Using a service like youtubedownload.altervista.org, you can easily download videos for viewing later. This will give you peace of mind that your lesson will not be ruined by a technical issue.

Take Advantage of YouTube

YouTube is a huge video database that teachers can use to their advantage. Find fun and interesting videos on the site, and use them to complement your lessons or to form the foundation of your lesson. They can really help to add another dimension to your lessons and bring them to life. Make sure you remember to respect IP when using downloaded videos.