EC&I Week 11 – Crash Course

*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina.

Week 11 Blog Prompt

Dive into one particular resource [OER] of reasonable size (e.g., a course, video series, other learning resource) and evaluate the course as a learning resource. Would this be something useful to other educators? What is the overall quality of materials? Is this something that can be easily adopted into others’ educational practice?

One of my all time favourite OER has to be the Crash Course channel on YouTube. Founded in December of 2011, Crash Course first appeared here on the blog in 2012 as a feature “resource of the week”. Fast forward to 2022 and I have not only used their videos as a teacher numerous times but I also use them myself to help make sense of different research paradigms in earlier Ph.D classes and love following the founders on TikTok (you should follow too: Hank Green and John Green). If you are interested in learning more about the entire journey of Crash Course I recommend you check out their history video below which not only summarizes this resource but provides a preview of the overall style of their videos:

Favourite Features

• The format of the courses employs humour and a fast-paced “edu-tainment” aspect that assists with engagement
• Videos include a mix of both host video, graphics, animations, labels, time-stamped topics, and closed-captioning which assists with engagement and understanding
• You can download the videos from Tumblr which is fantastic for educators teaching in locations that may not allow YouTube or experience issues with connectivity
• There is an associated app that not only has their videos but includes flashcards and quizzes
• There is a related channel, Crash Course Kids, designed for younger learners

How It Might Be Used

• Flipped Classroom Resource
  • In this approach, the videos can be shared with students who watch them before a designated class or face-to-face meeting with their educator as a way to introduce content before a more detailed lesson or activity
  • The download feature allows this to be more accessible as it can work for those with and without connectivity
• In-Class Content
  • Almost all videos are under 15 minutes and can easily be shared in-class as a large-group or as part of a media-based learning station
  • I personally like to introduce these videos as a large group as the fast-pace can be a bit much for some learners and this allows us to model strategies such as pausing and reflecting before moving on
• Extension/Review Resource
  • I linked to applicable videos on our classroom website whether we watched them in class or not so that they were easily accessible for students who wanted to learn more and/or review the material prior to an assessment
• PLN Development
  • The Crash Course hosts are active on various social media platforms and regularly engage followers and answer questions.
  • The hosts also use tools such as FlipGrid to engage followers and host “office hour” Q & A style videos that are also shared on their YouTube channel
  • This can be an accessible starting platform for students to reach out to experts in the field to have their questions answered