This paper introduces the use of technology in the classroom and highlights the growing challenges and opportunities teachers face in its application. One specific technique, the use of teacher-made and annotated "YouTube" videos to preteach class-specific course content for English language learners is presented. These videos were created to (1) be under five minutes, (2) annotated with text to reinforce the key concepts, (3) specific to the teacher's classes and not necessarily for a wider audience, and (4) offer in-class incentives for online work. Qualitative and quantitative results of the use of this technique are described over four semesters of data, two before the preteaching videos intervention and two after. The results conform to the previous research about preteaching in specific and the use of technology overall, but isolating the particular effect of the preteaching videos on learning remains a point for a future study. The paper concludes with a summary of the results and a discussion of the increasing role of technology in teaching and an exhortation for classroom teachers to make the most of these tools to remain relevant to learners.