Sometimes the most interesting discoveries happen in unexpected ways. For the last several weeks I’ve been busily working on content for an online graduate course on motivation. One of the concepts in the course is learned helplessness. It is such a common topic in psychology courses, I decided to look at YouTube to see if I could find an appropriate video. I was intrigued by this video from the channel CuriosityList. Take a look.
I enjoyed the original graphics and clear content, so I decided to explore a bit more of CuriosityList and see what was there. At this point there are nine videos on psychological concepts, all created within the last five months. But that wasn’t the most interesting thing. When I clicked on the “About” link to see where the channel originated, I learned that CuriosityList was created by Maggie Bowen, a high school student from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
High school student?
Sometimes it is easy to forget the options that technology puts at our students’ fingertips—at least some of our students. Let this video be a reminder. Students can process and present content in many ways, some with more options for originality than others. Creating individual videos of this type could be challenging as a whole-group assignment, particularly since not all students will have access to necessary technology on their own. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place in school. Video projects can be conducted by groups, offered as an option in presenting content, or used as individual options for students needing extra challenge. They may not look like the projects most of us experienced in school, but they offer more options for analysis and synthesis than any skit or diorama!
Think about sharing one of the CuriosityList videos with your students. You don’t know what you might inspire.
creativiteach 