Using Animated Videos while Teaching
Neurodivergent Students
Are you constantly thinking of ways to make learning more effective and engaging for your students? Of course! All teachers do, whether they’re in Special Education or a general education classroom.
But we have a challenge in today’s world. Students these days are leading the way in digitalization. They want to learn, understand, and grow in new and exciting ways.
Traditional teaching methods that used to be effective are no longer enough to meet the unique needs of students with learning differences. Lectures, textbooks, and printed pictures can sometimes fail to get the attention of modern learners.
This is where animated videos come in. Animations help students absorb information better and are effective for all ages, from primary to adult education.
Continue reading to find out how teaching using animated videos can help your neurodivergent students learn better!
What are Animated Videos?
Animated educational videos are short films that use moving images, sounds, and often narration to explain ideas. Unlike traditional teaching tools with still pictures and texts as visual aids, these videos bring lessons to life with colorful graphics and animations.
But we’re not talking about the old-school “fade in” and “swivel” type of animation here. Gone are the days of boring school videos with slideshows and flying texts. Today’s high-quality animations have enhanced computer effects that move in an eye-catching way, and they are made using DIY video-making platforms.
Animated videos make students more interested and teach in a better way, helping the students think and remember more.
Check out Transition Abilities on YouTube and download the free PDF with a whole series of videos you can use in your class.
The Limitations of Traditional Teaching Method
Before we go on to talk about the benefits of using animated videos when teaching, let’s have a look at why traditional teaching methods are not as effective for teaching Special Education students.
Traditional teaching methods often rely heavily on verbal and textual instruction. You know, the typical teacher-in-front-with-a-chalk-doing-lecture kind of teaching.
For many students with disabilities, these methods can be challenging. Textbooks are dense, and lectures may not hold their attention or meet their individual learning styles. Students with ADHD, autism, intellectual disabilities and other learning differences often benefit from more interactive and visual teaching methods.
Why Use Animation Videos for Special Education?
Using animated videos in teaching offers many advantages. They can make learning more effective and enjoyable for your students. But how, exactly? Here are the reasons why you should teach using animated videos.
#1 Make Complex Information Easy to Understand
If you’re going to teach something complicated and you’re worried that your students may find it difficult to understand, try using animated videos! These can help break down complex topics into simple, visual steps.
For example, learning about neurodiversity or autism can be challenging with just words and pictures. But with animations, these complex topics become clear and engaging. When you use animated characters and visual storytelling, you help your students grasp difficult concepts quickly and effectively.
#2 Visualizes Processes and Ideas
Animated learning videos are so useful for neurodivergent students, especially for autistic students who are often visual thinkers.
Animations show a clear vision of the topics they are learning. This way, students can see what they are learning and better understand the information. Let’s say you’re teaching a process like sending and receiving mail. Through animated videos, you can easily show how that process works!
#3 Engage and Retain Attention
With focus being a challenge for many Special Education students, animated videos can be of great help. These tools engage and retain the attention of students by making learning fun and exciting!
Unlike reading text, which can be boring and hard for students to understand, animated videos often use colorful graphics and interesting stories to make lessons come alive. This visual experience helps Special Education students stay focused and interested in the topic.
Did you know that animations can also help relieve stress? Animations often include elements of fun and storytelling, which makes learning entertaining and relatable. This makes learning more enjoyable, and when your students enjoy the learning process, they are more likely to concentrate and be engaged.
#4 Caters to Different Learning Styles
Not all students learn the same way. Whether students are neurodivergent or neurotypical, they all have different learning styles. Some learn best by seeing, others learn better by hearing, and some learn through kinesthetic means.
Animated videos cater to different learning styles by combining visual and auditory elements, helping both types of learners. They also support individual learning needs and paces, allowing differentiated instruction.
By addressing multiple learning styles, animated videos ensure that more students can enjoy and learn from the same material, helping you become a neurodiversity-affirming teacher!
#5 Encourages Self-Learning
As mentioned above, these learning videos support different learning paces. How? When you give your students access to the learning video you used, they can watch and rewatch it. They can replay the video whenever they want, without any time limits, allowing them to understand the material better. Sometimes, even if it’s just for entertainment, they’re likely to replay the video if it’s fun to watch. This repeated viewing helps them reinforce what they have learned, therefore encouraging self-learning.
For students with disabilities who more frequently have tasks done for them, self-learning is very important. It helps your student build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This can even boost their confidence and independence in learning!
#6 Saves Time and Effort
Using animated videos when teaching your students can even save you time and effort! It does so in several ways.
If you’re worried about the very long time it would take to create an animated video, well, there are lots of ready-made learning videos for certain topics online! And think about the time it would save when you’re teaching. Check out Transition Abilities on YouTube and download the free PDF with videos that are already made.
Animated videos make learning faster because visuals are processed much quicker by the brain than text or audio. This means your students can understand and remember information more easily if you use animated educational videos.
How to Use Animated Videos in Your Teaching
Now that you know how helpful animated videos are when teaching your Special Ed students, let’s see how you can use them effectively!
First, make sure that you have the right video. When creating your animation, it’s not just about the design. It should also be relevant to the lesson and age-appropriate for your students. This advice also applies when you’re looking for learning videos online. Choose a video with content that aligns with your curriculum and meets your learning objectives.
If you’re a Special Education teacher, our YouTube channel is a great place to start! Transition Abilities features lots of animated learning videos on various neurodiversity and Special Ed topics. Each video is carefully designed to be both educational and entertaining, and is created by a neurodivergent teacher who understands the unique needs of neurodivergent students!
Next, integrate the videos into your lessons. Remember that the animated video isn’t a lesson on its own! You may use it to kick off a lesson, explain difficult concepts, or review a topic that has been taught in other formats.
After that, make sure to pair the learning video with hands-on activities to reinforce concepts and keep your students engaged. Activities can include discussions, worksheets, or interactive projects that build on the video’s content.
Here’s a free Special Education video series guide to help get you started! Each video in this series covers a topic especially made for a transition curriculum, such as meaningful life skills, community skills, money math, vocational skills, social-emotional skills, and functional academics. The videos even include matching ready-made lessons! These lessons are ready to implement to help you save time!
Well, that’s it! Animated videos are a powerful tool in Special Education. It makes learning more fun, engaging, and effective! When you use this dynamic resource in your teaching, you can create a more inclusive and stimulating learning environment for all your students.
Don’t forget to check out Transition Abilities on YouTube and download the free PDF to start making learning fun!
