Educational videos we had to watch in school were often boring. They were filled with a repetitive stock music track, a monotone voice-over and stock footage that we had no thought of comprehending because we would use the time that the lights were off to take a quick nap.
If only there was a way to learn about biology and history in a fun, engaging way that actually makes us think. To those who ask that question, I suggest for you, Crash Course.
Crash Course is one of two educational initiatives taken by John and Hank Green, better known to the internet as the Vlogbrothers, whose main YouTube channel boasts over 250 million subscribers.
The two major topics discussed on Crash Course are biology and world history. For this review, we’ll be focusing on the world history series that is hosted by John Green. (Sorry Hank.)
The series follows a mostly chronological progression as we begin with the agricultural revolution of early man and then learn about the different ancient civilizations.
The primary focus of the series is to not only to look at world history, but also to take a look at different subjects that are still debated among historians such as the fall of the Roman Empire, the significance of the Renaissance and the mysterious details regarding the death of Captain James Cook.
Unique approach to education
Each episode delivers facts quickly by way of a continuous summary provided by John Green and animations by the company’s YouTube channel, ThoughtBubble. Some may recognize their animation based on a Vlogbrothers video that addressed healthcare reform.
In addition to the summaries and animation the series also features various running gags, such as the Phrase of the Week, The Open Letter and various belittlements of John Green’s past self.
The series uses a very unique approach to education and takes full advantage of the medium of internet video. The discussions in the comments section of each video are open to which a team of historians are on stand-by to answer questions asked by the viewers, addressing multiple viewpoints on a given topic.
These videos take a very basic set-up, as one might find in episodes of SLCC’s own internet broadcast shows such as What’s Bruin’ and Student Express, and injects it with subtle sight gags, self-referential humor and the unique art style of ThoughtBubble’s animations. All of it results in a nice, easy to view package that both entertains and educates.
If you’re the kind of person that likes to learn interesting facts about history and biology without sitting in a classroom for two hours, then this is the outlet for you. If you are taking a world history or biology course, then this video series also makes for a handy study resource.
Since this is a review of a series rather than a film, I won’t assign it my usual rating. I do highly recommend Crash Course as a better alternative to the various brain-melting amusements that are found all over cyber-space today.
Click here to find the YouTube EDU page for the series.