Using Online Videos to Illustrate Complex Topics

In many science courses, it is difficult for a student to actually see with his or her eyes the concept being described in class. This applies to diverse topics ranging from cell organelles in biology to electron clouds in chemistry to orbital mechanics in astronomy. Prior to television and VHS movies, teachers had to use static illustrations of a concept or perhaps a 3-D model that the teacher happened to have in the classroom. This limited the teacher to either flat, non-moving models of the topic or expensive physical models. As you can see below in the diagrams of DNA transcription, these illustrations could be limited in their usefulness to students.







With the advent of television, teachers could now purchase videos of whatever demonstration they needed. Again, however, the teacher needed to physically own the video or, more recently, DVD that they wanted to use to illustrate a given phenomenon to the class. While this was certainly an upgrade over the static illustration or model, it still required the teacher to have a specific piece of hardware for each demonstration.

Finally, as the Internet became more and more prevalent in classrooms, teachers had another tool to use in the classroom. Video sharing sites such as YouTube allowed teachers to access first-rate animations for free from anywhere in the world. Compare the animation of DNA transcription below to the static image above.

By making such animations accessible worldwide, the Internet has provided teachers everywhere with the resources they need to provide a first-class science education to their students and help those students who are visual learners master complicated science topics.