Teachers and students need access to interesting and thought-provoking videos
Students have different learning styles, and teachers strive to individualize instruction whenever possible. But videos often appeal to students of all learning styles when they are engaging, informative, and inspiring.
Some of the world’s top experts in various academic areas have helped to create videos in which they explain complex concepts in ways that students are able to understand, which gives students real-world knowledge of how they might apply their classroom lessons after they leave school.
Here are six engaging sites that might add something new to your classroom. What’s your favorite video resource? Let us know in the comments section below.
(Next page: 6 engaging video sites)
1. Big Think [1], similar to TED, features more than 12,000 videos from experts in a multitude of disciplines. Expert perspective can inspire thoughtful student debate in class.
2. @GoogleTalks [2] can give students the motivation they need to expand classroom discussions and delve deeper into concepts and ideas. In addition to videos from innovators discussing their latest ideas, clips also include those from authors, musicians, and others.
3. NeoK12 [3] offers science videos, lesson, and games on topics such as the human body, geography, physical science, and life science. Other topics include history, social studies, and more.
4. WatchKnowLearn.org [4] puts educators and students in touch with free educational videos organized by subject. Those subjects include foreign languages, arts, math, science, computers and technology, and more. Users also can upload videos and share their favorite resources.
5. MIT Video [5] features a variety of MIT-produced content, but this includes academic content and videos on interesting and unique concepts. A new video is spotlighted each day.
6. KidsKnowIt Network [6] is an engaging and free resource that children can use to learn about astronomy, math, spelling, geology, and more.
7. The Science Network [7] brings together renowned scientists and science experts as they discuss science, social policy, and all manner of scientific concepts, including how neurons are formed, morality and the brain, and more.