The University of Nottingham is definitely on to something. What with their wildly popular and scientastic Periodic Table of Videos, it looks as if they’ve unveiled a new venture that’s rampaging through the Interweaves. It’s called Sixty Symbols, “a channel devoted to those funny letters and squiggles used by physicists and astronomers.”
As evidenced by the rejuvenated popularity of Star Trek, I think people’s minds are melding to the idea that the 21st century is more about learning than it is about greed. Huzzah.
Egads…it looks like the web 2.0 / social networking movement is really picking up steam in academia. There seems to be a new online lecture-cast platform that’s unveiled every week. Inevitably it’s an encouraging movement, as colleges and universities are realizing they have the ability to capture lightning in a bottle as it strikes on campus. Librarians are cashing in as well, as increasingly we are the ones who are doing the recording, organizing and disseminating of such content.
The movement toward increased lecture-cast only makes perfect sense. A special event happens on campus, and with the permission to record and eventually post said lecture, an institution not only contributes to the overall body of knowledge, but also promotes itself and faculty in the process.
Notable platforms
YouTube – EDU – With brilliant examples like the periodic table of videos, more and more schools are uploading content, forcing YouTube to organize a separate space for the professional geeks.
FORA.tv – Focuses more on the prestigious speakers than the institutions. Important indeed.
Academic Earth – currently featuring lectures from Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.
iTunes U – Virtual beheamoth that it is, iTunes U is a subset of the iTunes Store contaning massive amounts of lectures, supplementary course info, and stuff of a general academic nature. Typically free, of course.
While working on my libguides I’ve come across a pretty cool resource for chemistry enthusiasts. The University of Nottingham has produced a fun and interesting set of videos detailing each of the elements contained within the periodic table. The periodic table of videos is a good way to introduce students to chemistry through an interesting 3-10 minutes worth of background info on a chosen element and maybe an experiment or two detailing the properties of said element.
Ever wondered about bismuth? Well, here’s your chance to learn:
Honestly, other than the educational value, these videos are worth posting for the professor’s hair alone.
