Creative, Collaborative, Lifelong learners: end of term videos

I'm weary...worn out....11 week term was too long...light at end of tunnel...end of term tomorrow...YAY!

I'm officially too tired to teach tomorrow so it'll be a video day of "popcorn lessons" for me and my students.

Here's my top ten (well actually, nine) list of end of term videos...in no particular order...

March of the Penguins

Documentary film narrated by Morgan Freeman: A wonderful, emotional and very visual journey that relates to adaptation and habitats.

"The film depicts the yearly journey of the emperor penguins of Antarctica. In autumn, all the penguins of breeding age leave the ocean, their normal habitat, to walk inland to their ancestral breeding grounds. There, the penguins participate in a courtship that, if successful, results in the hatching of a chick. For the chick to survive, both parents must make multiple arduous journeys between the ocean and the breeding grounds over the ensuing months."

BBC Blue Planet
Time flies as you sit back and effortlessly watch any of the 8 of these 50 minute episodes with links to adaptation. I recommend episode 2 "The Deep".

"The Blue Planet has been described as the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceanseach of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of marine life. My favourite is episode 2 "The Deep", it's just extraordinary. The underwater photography includes creatures and behaviour that had previously never been filmed."

Man on Wire

WOW! I'm a little speechless, what an incredible lifetime dream that was achieved by Philippe Petit! Show this in class after teaching a unit on forces, it is a gripping documentary and a well deserved winner of numerous Film Awards.

"On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the worlds tallest buildings. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan. James Marsh's documentary brings Petit's extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as the artistic crime of the century"

Atom Bond, the atom with the golden electron

I cannot recommend this highly enough, it is superb, a fun, creative and informative summary for Senior Chem students on bonding and intermolecular forces. Available to purchase from Classroom video.

"The scientific concepts are presented as a parody of a James Bond movie: Gold Metallic Bond is sent off to investigate why carbon, nitrogen and other atoms are training themselves in other types of bonds. He discovers their 'bond' school and university, finding that they are all working towards Project D. Complex information is presented in a way that is designed to be fun at the same time."
Winner of a Gold Dragon at the International Science Film Festival 2001 Beijing and gold medal for the Most Innovative program at the Questacon (CSIRO) Awards 2001.

BBC Life of Plants
A wonderful series, written and presented by David Attenborough. Due to time constraints it's unlikely you'll be able to show all six episodes, I recommend episode 1 "Travelling", which introduces students to many weird and wonderful types of seeds and their methods of dispersal.

Man v's Wild

Hosted by Bear Gryllis (surely, not his real name!). Have a look at the Namibian desert episode (season 2, episode 9) where he puts together a makeshift water distiller and finds sources of water in the desert, there are loose links to distillation and adaptation.

I came, I saw, I redoxed

Another favourite from the Classroom video crew this is an excellent summary of redox chemistry for your senior Chemistry students.

"This video explains or redox reactions via an animated story in which the mighty caesium and his legion of atoms set out to conquer the world. A number of reactions are covered and the properties of different types of atom explained."

Wallace and Gromit by Nick Park of Aardman Productions.

These plastercine charachters are very popular with students, all three of the 20 minute episodes are worth a look. I recommend "The Wrong Trousers" with links to levers and forces, this episode alone has won over forty top international awards including the Academy Oscar, and has become one of the most successful animated short films ever made.

As a side note, there is a "Wallace and Gromit, World of cracking ideas" exhibition on at the Science Museum in London until November

Atoms and their electrons

The synopsis below sounds cheesy, because it is! This is a fabulous summary of ionic, covalent molecular, metallic and covalent network bonding. Another highly recommended video, available to purchase from...yes, you guessed it, a very creative and talented group of professionals at Classroom video.

"This program provides a history of our understanding of the atom including the pioneering work of Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford and Bohr. It features an animated love story of chlorine and sodium, showing how 'at the disco' atoms combine in various ways. Carbon forms a show of network covalent models, we see evolving molecular shapes C02, H20, NH3, CH4, and N2. Chlorine is asked to dance with Ca, Al and C but waits for Na. They dance and transfer an electron. Love at last."