25 Digital Lesson Plans to Use in the Classroom

With the digitization of learning and education, teachers have a wider variety of creative tools that can impact student learning. Digital lesson plans give teachers a ready-to-go resource to use that can engage students in fostering growth and learning. Even though using digital multimedia tools may be intimidating at first, there isn’t any reason why you can’t start learning how to incorporate these tools today.

In this article, we’ll discuss digital lesson plans and how to create digital lesson plans of your own. We’ll also provide you with 25 digital lesson plans that you can try right now, so get ready to incorporate some new learning tools into your professional tool belt!

Know what you need? Jump to it below:

• What are digital lesson plans?
• How to create digital lesson plans
• 25 digital lesson plans to try today

What are digital lesson plans?

While most teachers know how to write lesson plans and may even be required to do so daily, digital lesson plans are a little different. Digital lesson plans are instructional materials designed for learning that leverages technology or digital tools in some way, shape, or form.

Digital lesson plans open up a whole new realm for educators and learners. With traditional lesson plans, teachers may focus on learning using textbooks or activities in the classroom; the problem with this is that these plans can exclude an entire world of information and creativity.

However, using digital tools and lesson plans, students are only limited by their imagination and teachers can afford students the freedom to create and learn in completely new and engaging ways.

A digital lesson plan may include some form of the following elements:

• Multimedia content: Audio, video, animation, images, or any combination of digital media can be used in a digital lesson plan and may be used to present information in a fun and engaging way. 
• Online platforms: The surge of online learning platforms has become a staple for digital lessons. Platforms like WeVideo give students a place to think, create, and develop simple or complex multimedia projects in one place. 
• Interactive activities: Online digital lesson plans give teachers the power to create interactive activities. This isn’t like traditional teaching where developing interactive activities is labor intensive; with online platforms, educators can quickly design and develop interactive discussions and activities. 
• Collaborative tools: Collaboration is an essential 21st-century learning skill. Digital learning enables students to collaborate across time and even across the world. Students can work together, both inside and outside of school, to develop various digital projects. 
• Real-world connections: The digital nature of online learning allows for more real-world connections. Many digital lesson plans ask students to incorporate elements from multiple content areas while also developing skills related to creating videos or other media productions. 
• Accessibility features: Digital lesson plans can be endlessly customized to meet the accessibility needs of all learners. These features may include adding closed captions to videos, allowing students to slow videos down, and giving built-in accommodations or modifications.

How to create digital lesson plans

Creating digital lesson plans doesn’t have to be hard. For teachers, the key is to start with the end in mind. By starting with the standard that you hope for students to reach and working backward, you can keep your digital lesson on track and ensure that it hits your specific learning targets along the way.

Once you have chosen your end goal, it’s time to start developing a basic outline of what you want students to accomplish. This may include a checklist or a rubric that breaks down the lesson into smaller, more manageable chunks giving the students a pathway to success. It may also be a good idea to provide students with an example to refer back to as they work.

After students have created their final product, it’s time for them to show it off and get some feedback. Feedback is a critical part of the learning process and should be included in your digital lesson plans. This allows students to make edits or changes as needed to hit the learning target.

The important thing is to give students the freedom to be creative and develop a final product that is uniquely theirs. No two end products should look exactly alike, that would be boring! 

25 digital lesson plans to try right now

For both veteran and beginner teachers alike, it’s nice to have a few digital lesson plans in your back pocket, so to speak. Here are 25 digital lesson plans from WeVideo that you can try right now!

1. Stop-Motion Science

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students develop engaging stop-motion videos to explain complex topics in science.

2. Create Your Digital Self

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Have students think of an experience or event in their lives and share it through a vlog or digital journal. 

3. Screencast Your Thinking

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students can show their thought processes by having them screencast and narrate their thinking. 

4. Make an Impact

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Harness your students’ power and passion by having them create a video to raise awareness about a topic.

5. Sell Me Something

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

For this digital lesson plan, students design and create a short two-minute video advertisement that sells their audience on an invention, idea, or product. 

6. Key Concepts

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

After reflecting on their learning, students create a GIF representing a key concept or idea from a lesson or unit.  

7. Literary Character Analysis Video

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Turn character analysis papers on their head and have students create video analyses with audio, video, and fun animations. 

8. Video Haiku

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students write haikus, then bring them to life with video, images, or audio clips. 

9. Real-World Math Challenge

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Challenge students to create a video that illustrates and analyzes a real-world math problem. Students can creatively show the problem and analyze how to solve it using mathematical concepts. 

10. Digital Portfolio

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

This project has students show what they know using a 3-5 minute video to highlight their learning over a period of time. 

11. Call for Change

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Participate in the KQED Media Showcase with your students and have students identify a change that would like to see on the local or global level and create a short video advocating for that change. 

12. Digital Citizen Superheroes

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Have students create their digital citizen superheroes and design a GIF to go with their hero. 

13. Summer Stories Podcast

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Kick the traditional, “Tell me about your summer,” prompt up a notch by having students create a podcast that highlights a summer story. 

14. TED-Style Talks

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students design their own TED-Style talks and show their expertise on a topic and look good doing it using high-quality video and audio editing tools. 

15. Music Videos Examining Content

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Add a little music to your classroom by having students pair a song with a current topic, using images and animations to create a music video.

16. My Personality GIF

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Having students create a GIF of themselves that represents their personality is a great way to break the ice at the beginning of the year, or reflect on their learning before summer break. 

17. WeVideo Scavenger Hunt

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

For students new to WeVideo, developing a scavenger hunt and having students search for different features and functions is a great way to learn how to use the tools to their fullest. 

18. Design Your Name

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students design their names and add motion and animations to bring them to life. 

19. Cross-Cutting Concepts - Cause and Effect

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Student show their understanding of concepts such as cause and effect by creating a video that shows examples of the concept in action. 

20. History Biographies

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students choose a historical figure and create a short video biography all about them to bring the person to life.  

21. Science Experiment

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Have students create a video account of what happened during the experiment. 

22. Science Documentary

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students become teachers when they create a documentary that teaches others about a specific concept in science. 

23. Amazing Animals

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Learners create a fun and informative video on an animal after doing some research.

24. Narrative Storytelling - Short Films

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students tell stories either from their lives or their imaginations by creating and staring in their short films. 

25. Animated Books

Try this project with students in WeVideo.

Students take their favorite book and turn it into an animated classic by animating pages, zooming, and adding in fun effects.

Remember, these lesson plans are only a starting point, and with digital lesson plans there are countless opportunities to engage students through multimedia. By keeping the end goal and standard in mind you can develop lessons that inspire creativity and tap into students’ natural desire to explore while continuing to push students to grow and learn. If you are wondering where to start, check out the WeVideo for some ideas!