Crash Course - Plant Cell Biology

Last month I wrote about the YouTube channel Crash Course. At that time I was highlighting the Crash Course history videos. Today, I want to point out the science videos. Crash Course is now up to six biology videos. Like the history videos, the biology videos are rather fast-paced and in a couple of spots make some borderline inappropriate comments But as a general rule, the Crash Course videos should be okay for high school students (use your discretion, what's okay at my school might not be okay at your school, before showing the video to a classroom).

Watch Frostbite Theater from Jefferson Lab

Yesterday, I posted a list of 7 Useful YouTube Channels for Science Students and Teachers. This morning, through a Tweet by Sandra Goodrich,  I learned of another good YouTube channel for science students. Jefferson Lab's YouTube channel includes a playlist titled Frostbite Theater. Frostbite Theater is a collection of 54 videos that offer short lessons in basic chemistry and physics. In the video below students learn about liquid nitrogen shaping pewter.



Applications for Education
If you're looking for some simple science demonstrations to add to your classroom website, Frostbite Theater might have what you need. On a related note, Sandra Goodrich's blog has some great ideas for science teachers. Check out her Marshmallow Chemistry post.

Foodskey - The Science of Food

Foodskey is a site produced by The University of Nottingham who also produces the Periodic Table of Videos. Foodskey is a set of fourteen videos about the science of food. The videos cover topics like nutrition, food security, and crop technology. I've embedded the video about broccoli below.



Applications for Education
Foodskey isn't terribly in-depth yet, but the content that is present could be useful for a short lesson on the science of food. You might use the videos an introduction to a lesson or as part of an editorial moment in your lesson.

7 Useful YouTube Channels for Science Students and Teachers

Last month I posted a list of useful YouTube channels for history teachers and students. That list proved to be popular so I thought I'd follow-up with a list of useful YouTube channels, not named Khan Academy, for science teachers and students.

The Periodic Table of Videos is a YouTube channel produced by The University of Nottingham. One of the more useful playlists in the channel is The Elements. The table features a video demonstration of the characteristics of elements in the Periodic Table of Elements. In all there are 390 videos divided into 24 playlists about the work of chemists at the university.

Science Bob is a helpful website featuring science fair project ideas for elementary school and middle school students. Science Bob also has a YouTube channel that offers some demonstrations of science experiments and science lessons.

I covered this a couple of weeks ago, but it's worth mentioning again. The Spangler Effect is a new YouTube channel from Steve Spangler Science. Unlike his popular Sick Science videos which are no more than short demonstrations of science experiments students and parents can do at home, The Spangler Effect videos offer longer (15 minutes or so) explanations of science experiments. The Spangler Effect videos explain the science of do-it-yourself experiments and how you can recreate those experiments at home or in your classroom.

Science/Math Concepts with Mr. P is a teacher-produced channel of more than 600 video lessons organized into 40 playlists. You can learn more about Mr. P at Chemistry PapaPodcasts. Don't let the name fool you, the channel is more than just chemistry lessons.

Bright Storm is a company that I've covered before when writing about online mathematics help. Bright Storm's YouTube channel offers video lessons for biology, chemistry, and physics. The videos are nothing more than an instructor lecturing with a whiteboard for a few minutes which could be adequate if a student just needs a refresher on a science topic.

NASA has a few different YouTube channels, but the one that has the most universal utility for teachers and students is NASA eClips. NASA eClips is organized according to grade level with playlists intended for elementary school, middle school, and high school. I've embedded one of the eClips below.

The Open University another resource that I've previously written about in other contexts. Most recently I wrote about their free Frozen Planet feature on the arctic and antarctic regions. The Open University YouTube channel contains many playlists on a wide variety of topics in science. Here's one of their science playlists about DNA and RNA.

Do you have a favorite YouTube channel that should be added to this list? If so, please leave a comment. 

Heart Rap - A Rap Explanation of How the Heart Works

Rhyme 'n Learn is back with another educational rap music video. This latest addition to their catalog is called Ur Blood, Brother. The video explains the basic functions of the human heart. The video can be found on YouTube or on the Rhyme 'n Learn website. The video includes captions with the lyrics. If you want an easy-to-print version of the lyrics, visit Rhyme 'n Learn.


Applications for Education
As I was watching the video last night I thought to myself,  "this is kind of like Khan Academy set to rap." The video has some basic graphics to support the text. The video could be a catchy review for some students.

The Spangler Effect - Experiments and Explanations

The Spangler Effect is a new YouTube channel from Steve Spangler Science. Unlike his popular Sick Science videos which are no more than short demonstrations of science experiments students and parents can do at home, The Spangler Effect videos offer longer (15 minutes or so) explanations of science experiments. The Spangler Effect videos explain the science of do-it-yourself experiments and how you can recreate those experiments at home or in your classroom.

Below you can see the Newton's Pendulum episode of The Spangler Effect.


Applications for Education
If you're looking for some science experiments that students can do at home with their parents, The Spangler Effect and Sick Science videos offer some good ideas to pass along.

Award-Winning Science Visualizations

The National Science Foundation's International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge annually recognizes individuals and organizations who produce educational graphics. There are five award categories; videos, interactive games, informational posters and graphics, illustrations, and photography. The awards recognize outstanding visualizations that can help educate students about complex topics in science. For example, Sponge Lab's Build a Body that I wrote about last week was an award winner in 2011. Another example is found in the video embedded below.


Applications for Education
If you're looking for some informative graphics to support your science lesson plans, take a look at the past winners of the National Science Foundation's International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge.

Learn About Physics Through the Circus

In 2010 PBS aired a short series called Circus. Circus was a documentary about the Big Apple Circus. The show took viewers behind the scenes of a traveling circus production. All six of the episodes are currently available to watch online. Today, through a Tweet by Danny Nicholson I learned that the Circus website offers some short circus-based physics lessons.

Circus Physics is a series of eight short videos. Each of the videos features a circus act that demonstrates a basic principle of physics. Each video clip is accompanied by text and image explanations. I've embedded the Newton's Laws of Motion video below.

Watch Circus Physics: Newton's Laws of Motion on PBS. See more from Circus.