 Guest blog post provided by Meaghan Lister, BSc. BEd. MEd. www.FlorentisLearning.ca Let’s be honest—teaching isn’t always easy. Whether it is an online lesson for English Second Language learners, a lesson in front of a classroom full of students, or homeschooling at your kitchen table, we all need a few tools in our back pocket that actually make our jobs easier. One of my go-to tools? Edpuzzle. At Florentis Learning, we create ready-to-use lessons for online ESL teachers, and we love pairing those lessons with Edpuzzle to bring them to life. If you haven’t tried Edpuzzle yet—or if you’re curious how it works—this post is for you!  Wait, What’s Edpuzzle?Edpuzzle is a free platform that lets you easily and quickly turn any video into an interactive learning experience. You can add:
It works with YouTube, TED Talks, or even screen recordings you create yourself. In a nutshell: instead of students passively watching a video, Edpuzzle gets them actively listening, thinking, and responding. And that’s gold in any learning environment. 👉 Try Edpuzzle here  Why I Love Edpuzzle for ESLHere’s what makes it such a game-changer for me: 🎧It Builds Listening Skills Edpuzzle lets you pause a video and check for understanding. This helps students really tune in and process what they hear. If they get an answer wrong, they can click ‘replay’ and hear the content from the section over again without having to restart the entire video. ✎ You Can Highlight Key Vocabulary When a new word pops up, I can add a question or note that defines it right in the moment. It’s way more effective than giving a vocabulary list beforehand. The vocabulary is learned in context and ‘just-in-time’. 🧠Students Learn at Their Own Pace Since students can pause and replay the video, they’re in control. This is especially helpful for learners who need a little extra processing time. They can watch the video as many times as they want which makes it an ideal tool for self-directed learning. 📈 You Can See Who’s Engaged The platform shows you which students watched the video, which questions they got right, and where they struggled. Instant insight = better support. Edpuzzle also has an option to prevent learners from ‘skipping’ ahead in the video ensuring they have watched the entire lesson.  How I Use Edpuzzle with My StudentsLet me walk you through how I typically use it in a lesson for English Second language learners. Keep in mind that you can do this with ANY video so it is ideal for math, science, history. If you can find a video, you can create a learning activity quickly and easily. One of the big benefits of using Edpuzzle is that there is a huge library of teacher created resources available as well as Edpuzzle Originals which are created by Edpuzzle and ready to use. Many of the topics that I want to find videos on are already available in Edpuzzle complete with questions. If I want to create my own video, I will either choose a video from Edpuzzle and create a copy to edit, or start from scratch. 1. Pick a Video That Matches Your Topic If I’m teaching a unit about food, I might choose a video of someone shopping at a market. For social studies, maybe a vlog from another country. 💡 Keep it short—under 5 minutes is ideal. It’s easier to focus and finish! 2. Add Questions and Notes If you are creating your own Edpuzzle or editing an existing one, think about what you want your students to learn:
3. Assign the Video and Review Together You can assign videos for homework or do them live in class. Afterward, I like to go over a few questions together or let students talk about what they learned. This is also great for a ‘flipped classroom’ approach where students are exposed to some background information before class and then come to class ready to learn about and discuss the topic. 4. Follow It Up with Speaking or Writing Once students understand the video, I give them a chance to use the language:
This helps turn passive watching into active speaking and writing—always a win in ESL. Real Examples from My ClassroomHere are a few ways I’ve used Edpuzzle across different age groups: 🍎 English Second Language - Young Learners – Food Theme
✈ Teens – Travel & Culture
👔 Teens - Middle School Biology
A Few Tips for Making It Work
And most of all—keep it fun! Let students know there are no wrong answers, just chances to grow. For more tips on making video lessons, check out this article: 6 Best Practices for Making Video Lessons. Why Edpuzzle Is Worth TryingWhether you’re teaching one-on-one or in a group, live or asynchronously or homeschooling, Edpuzzle helps turn everyday videos into meaningful ESL lessons. It saves you time, keeps students engaged, and helps reinforce listening and vocabulary skills—all in one place. Best of all, it offers a free plan that is usually sufficient for most teachers. At Florentis Learning, we’re all about making life easier for online ESL teachers. Edpuzzle fits perfectly with that mission—and we hope it helps you too! Helpful Links:  Florentis Learning creates engaging, easy-to-use ESL lesson materials for online teachers who want to save time and keep their students excited about learning. Whether you teach kids, teens, or adults, we’ve got something for you.   What’s one video you’ve used in class that your students absolutely loved? How do you currently make videos interactive in your lessons—have you tried tools like Edpuzzle? What kinds of follow-up activities work best for your learners after watching a video? Have you ever used Edpuzzle’s library of ready-made lessons? Which ones would you recommend? What’s your top tip for keeping students engaged during video-based lessons? Please leave your comments below. Your feedback is always appreciated. 
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