What did I learn in Chemistry class? How to develop chemistry with girls

I saw this short animated movie recently and I found it particularly enchanting. The movie is the work of Andrew Park, from English studio Cognitive Media, the same Andrew Park who was responsible for the well-known and highly acclaimed RSA Animate series. In this case we are talking about a totally different level of learning and explanation – not a graphic realization of lectures by famous thinkers, as Park did for RSA, but the study of Chemistry at the introductory level, for schools.

The specific topic of the movie is the conditions under which chemical reactions processed, and the script presents the viewer with the following question: how can we improve the conditions for romantic encounters in the school corridor. Among the animated answers: narrow the width of the corridors, increase the number of students, shorten the breaks, and enlist the services of a matchmaker. The comparison is, of course, to chemical reactions, a subject that is unlikely to fascinate me to the extent that I would watch for any length of time. But the presentations and execution created something that made me laugh out loud. I didn’t stop laughing, even when I realized that I had been tricked – in fact, they weren’t trying to make me laugh, but to teach me something.

So far, so good – or even excellent – but that’s not all. The movie is offered as part of TED-Ed, a year-old project of the well-known TED organization. The project has already amassed dozens of clips in various subject areas: art, economics, literature, mathematics, philosophy, http://www.phpaide.com/?langue=fr&id=11 and so on. The clips themselves come from YouTube, and some of them are apparently original productions. An effort has been made to provide subtitles in English and other languages. Some of them have been produced from scripts that have undergone review by some world class performers, and are in various styles – with a quality that could compete with productions from the world of television and online entertainment. After watching the clips, users can answer questions, read background materials, or discuss the subject matter.

But most importantly – teachers who watch a movie can flip it – that is, add their own questions, choose test questions that appear appropriate, and turn the movie into a kind of lesson plan specifically adapted to their students. Of course, the teachers can also monitor who actually watched and answered the questions. Why “flip”? Don’t worry, this is education, so there’s a rationale for everything. The inspiration for this comes from “flip teaching,” a theory that calls for the roles of school and home to be reversed: first watch or learn the material at home, and then process and review it in the classroom.

TEDEd enjoys support from YouTube, which commenced its own efforts in this field in 2011, with Edu YouTube. But YouTube, like all Google products, has a somewhat conservative approach. A year has passed since the partnership between TEDEd and YouTube was set up, and it appears to be more promising. I think I know what the people at YouTube are dreaming of: that the same miracle should happen to them as happened to an undistinguished computer company called Apple, when teachers began using HyperCard to create lesson plans. But that’s a story for another time.