Today I would like to highlight some science YouTube channels that can be incorporated into the classroom.
First, let’s discuss Crash Course. Brothers John and Hank Green began this channel to provide a variety of educational content, with Hank providing most of the science content. You can find playlists for history, geography, literature, and many science topics. I have only watched the science videos. They are not fancy and are mostly comprised of Hank talking for 10-15 minutes, and talking quickly. However, there is something in his mannerism that appeals greatly to me, and I find the content within the videos informative and succinct.
I first came across ASAP Science when I was looking for fun content for teaching the Periodic Table. And it was fun I found. The best thing that I probably did during that unit was introduce The Periodic Table Song, written and sung by one of the channel creators, Mitchell Moffit (the other guru behind this channel is Gregory Brown, and both are Canadian). Although there were many other fun task incorporated into the unit, my students loved the song and most had the first few verses memorized within days, generating excitement for the coming activities within the unit. Their videos are colourful and entertaining. Just be aware that there are some racy topics covered, so you may not want to randomly search through their playlist with students watching.
Next up, Minute Physics by Henry Reich. Don’t let the name fool you, the videos last longer than a minute. Look here for short tutorials on things physics related, as well as other science content. Vidoes are created on a whiteboard, and I always find it mesmerizing to watch content unfold as it is being drawn.
Finally, Veritasium offers videos on science and engineering, showing experiments, demonstrations, and interviews created by Derek Muller. For a neat sample of what he offers, check out the Stringless Yo-Yo! video.
Stay tuned….
