KristinHarrisDesign.com
Science education is something we can all agree is important. How are producers and educators making sense of the current landscape and helping students learn? Media producers have watched the industry change by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. In the 90's it was a miracle to get anything to happen on a dial up connection. Now we take HD streaming for granted. Producers get left in the dust if they are don't keep up with the state of the art, all while they get older (even the young ones) and audiences get younger with changing tastes and preferences. These are some of the issues Dan Sonnett, video producer and owner of Sonnett Media Group, LLC discussed at a recent meeting of the The Women in Film & Video (EdCM) Education & Children's Media Roundtable. Dan is a long time contractor with the Smithsonian's National Natural History Museum were is currently Sr. Video Producer and Science Communicator.
TV is Broken
Dan set the stage for our conversation by reminding us that TV is broken. He had fascinating statistics about what, why and when kids are access online video. YouTube has over 1 billion users. In March of 2015, YouTube attracted 31.8 million users aged 18 to 24 (98% of the U.S internet users in that age bracket). All this is very important data for media producers. In a nut shell, kids are spending lots of time online and jumping around, probably while multi-tasking. This is not really much of a surprise. How does this relate to education? In addition to teens liking the online video offerings, teachers do too. They provide visual demonstrations or evidence and can clearly dramatize events and concepts. The videos are short which is a good match for student attention spans.
 |
| The Epic Rap Battles of History is a video series created by Nice Peter, epicLLOYD, Dave McCary, and Maker Studios. |
Dan showed us some examples of the state of the art in engaging students and some of the guidelines that have proven successful. The first is making it interactive, which isn't intuitive for linear video. The Rapp Battles are a perfect example with the caveat that these may not always be appropriate for the classroom. I don't know which rock I have been hiding under but ERB's Rapp Battles were new to me. Dan played this 3 minute shout-off between Isaac Newton and Bill Nye. It was hilarious. Dan was quick to add that there is actually substantive science information included in the clip.
Epic Rapp Battles of History aren't all about science. Dan suggested that the best major YouTube science channel for science is Vsauce with 9 million subscribers.
Capturing and Keeping Viewers Attention
Vsauce consists of three channels, Vsauce1, Vsauce2 and Vsauce which share 14 million subscribers and over 1 billion views. Their success is based on having a deep library and techniques for capturing and keeping the viewers attention. This is accomplished with shifting context, music video parodies and a fast pace. Another major difference with traditional television or documentary formats is the fairly constant presence of the host. The format of these videos is longer than the Rapp Battles and as Dan suggests, probably more consistently better suited to classroom use.
 |
| One of Dan's favorite Vsauce science videos |
Dan also mentioned PBS Digital Studios and specifically their offering It's Okay to be Smart. On investigation this is just the tip of the iceberg. They have an extensive list of offerings that are most accessible directly on YouTube. Most of the videos I found were in the 3 to 5 minutes range we see so often on YouTube.
As huge fan of cicadas, this one interested me in particular.
 |
| It's Okay to Be Smart, PBS Digital Studio |
So, this is all great fun, perusing short science videos on line. What's Dan trying to tell us? First, it's important to see what's out there, but also glean what works and why. This of course was the substance of Sonnett's presentation.
Creating media for learning science means helping students:
- Understand a body of knowledge
- AND understand how it was discovered and refined and revised
- Learn to communicate about science
The Goals for Science Education
- Making science understandable
- Fostering communities of learning
- Engage and inspire generations of learners
- Strength support for science in our society
Museums are in a unique position to offer educators and students access to collections, a community of scientists and educators, context to the collection, collaboration and curators.
Smithsonian Online Video
Smithsonian Science How is one example. These are free, interactive, TV-style webcast programs that introduce middle school students to core science concepts through the lens of Smithsonian research and experts. The objective is to provide students with positive STEM role models and a connection to science in their lives. The webcast are interactive to keep students engaged.
On Dan's agenda coming up are documenting field work of Smithsonian scientists and working on videos about up coming exhibitions, especially Deep Time, the renovation of the Fossil Hall.
We can see more of Natural History Museum videos and samples of the wide range of educational material available from the museum at Q?rius
Two of the Numerous Questions for Dan:
Why middle school students?
1. The Smithsonian is targeting middle school students. I was curious why, as opposed to elementary school kids, etc. Dan explained that this is a critical age when students have a tendency to veer away from science if they are not engaged. Even if they are not going to choose a career in science, a good basic education in science is important for everyone.
How can we show you samples of our work?
2. Dan was soliciting animators and media producers to introduce themselves. He suggested the best way to communicate with him is through his LinkedIn account.
Informative Presentation and Stay Tuned
Here is a link to Dan's Prezi.
I will never to be same after watching Rapp Battles!
What's Next for Ed&CM?
Our next presentation will be September 16th. Brian Judy of Red Aphid will be talking about Games for Learning and doing a demo of Game Salad.
The WIFV Education & Children's Media Roundtable is a community of creatives interested and involved in producing children's media and developing screen media for all levels of educational. We are producers, writers, animators, illustrators, voice talent, game developers and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment