Crash Course Video on EdTech

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I love Crash Course! If you haven't heard of Crash Course it was created by John and Hank Green. John and Hank have a well known YouTube channel called the Vlog Brothers and John has written many popular young adult novels. When they started Crash Course, John would make videos about humanities and Hank would make videos about science. They now have a partnership with PBS which allowed them to make more courses and hire more people.

This particular video is from a course on computer science which is hosted by Carrie Ann. In this video, they included a quote from Thomas Edison who said in 1913, "books will soon be obsolete in the schools. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years." I thought this was fascinating that he made this prediction so long ago. Although he wasn't exactly correct, videos have become a very important part of education. In this video, Carrie Ann explains some simple tips to help you learn and retain more from a video. She says it is a good idea to change the speed of the video to find the right pace that works for you and to use pause to be able to stop and think about more difficult things. I often find that when my students are watching educational videos on their own, they never pause them. Because of this, I usually model this when I play videos for the class. I pause the videos and ask questions before we move on.

Carrie then goes on to discuss online courses. She talks about how many online courses started out with just videos on lectures from famous professors. The problem with this though is that students would not receive any feedback. Feedback is so important for learning. Many education technology developers are looking at how a program can provide feedback without a professor. That's where Intelligent Tutoring Systems come in. They use algorithms to figure out what skills a student has mastered and what skills they still need to work on. Khan Academy is a great example of one of these systems. I love to use Khan Academy because if I understand something quickly it only makes me answer a couple questions, but if I don't get it then it has me spend more time on it. I know a lot of curricula are starting to include systems like this as well to help differentiate learning for students.

Comments

  1. Keith HanzAugust 8, 2019 at 5:56 PM

    For a long time I felt that I hade to create all the content in my courses, including video. Now, I only create the content that I find done poorly elsewhere. If I find accurate and well-produced videos or Infographics, I will link to them in my own lessons, and feel better about that practice these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 9, 2019 at 8:50 PM

      Yes, sometimes it is better to make your own videos because you can make it exactly how you want it. It's great that there is so much content available online now though because you can find really high quality videos made by others.

      Delete
  2. Jake DaltonAugust 9, 2019 at 10:50 AM

    I think the idea of pausing a video to answer questions or discuss concepts up to that point is a better way to engage students and help them to retain information that is being said. If you wait until the video is over, students may forget key points from the beginning. I am also a big fan and user of the content found on Khan Academy, and as a developer it is interesting to read about their use of algorithms and machine learning to help assist users with their content.

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    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 9, 2019 at 8:52 PM

      I agree that pausing is really important. I find that videos are usually pretty engaging for students but they can begin to zone out over time. If you pause and talk about it there is greater engagement and learning.

      Delete
  3. Tanneil KuchynkaAugust 10, 2019 at 9:56 AM

    I have heard so many great things about Khan Academy. I would like to try it sometime. Does your district pay for this for teachers and students to use?

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    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 13, 2019 at 11:38 AM

      It’s completely free! I think they might have a paid version that has some extra features. The free version is great though. I don’t use it in the classroom very often. If a student wants extra practice in an area they are struggling with though that’s what I recommend.

      Delete
  4. DiannaAugust 11, 2019 at 3:01 PM

    I also like Crash Course! I found videos that related to thoughts because I felt that helped with teaching.

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    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 13, 2019 at 11:39 AM

      Yes they have many videos that have helped me with my teaching! The history ones were particularly helpful when I was teaching a part of history I wasn’t super familiar with.

      Delete
  5. Danielle PetitmermetAugust 11, 2019 at 4:52 PM

    I love Crash Course Kids! They are ultimately created by the same people and are perfect for kids!

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    Replies
    1. Hannah FastAugust 13, 2019 at 11:40 AM

      I appreciate that they made crash course kids too! There are many videos that I wanted to show my students but it would have one inappropriate thing in it so I couldn’t show it. It’s great that they have some kid versions too.

      Delete

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