Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-L] Edu Videos



Again, you may not like the relativity video. You may be in the right. I don't think this means the entire lot of Veritassium videos should be avoided because you don't like how he handles relativity.
We may differ on this point.
I attempted to make that politely clear in the earlier email.
Regarding kids liking candy sex and violence, you have taken one portion of a paragraph and whored it out. If I get rid of the candy reference and the use of the dirty word /like/ & state that these videos make kids want to discuss science and physics, that doesn't change the intent or meaning of my paragraph. I guess they could still like sex and violence. But my comparison was to show that these videos can motivate kids in the area of science. Your comparison was not useful. At least I don't believe so. Although I can appreciate a smart alec statement now and again.
Again, I am not referring to just one video. I haven't seen the relativity video you opposed to. I am referring to how I find many of these videos to be a useful tool.
As others have pointed out, research has been done that shows engaging in a prediction before an experiment is valueable. Additionally, the U Washington group has done work in which student are presented with predictions or scenarios that they must analyze. This has been proven useful. Perhaps not this video, I don't know, but most of the veritassium videos do something along the lines of the UW approach, in video.
I am trying to state that while you don't like the relativity video for your standard (and probably correct) reasons, the others may still be of value to folks. You may find the others interesting too, even if you find Derek Mueller to be a bit self serving.


Have a good one.
Paul.

...::. Sent from a touchscreen.::...
Paul Lulai


----- Reply message -----
From: "John Denker" <jsd@av8n.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 28, 2013 11:44 am
Subject: [Phys-L] Edu Videos
To: "Phys-L@Phys-L.org" <Phys-L@Phys-L.org>

On 03/28/2013 06:51 AM, Paul Lulai wrote:
I don't think a large percentage of people would approach relativity
or entropy in a way that would fully satisfy you.

That may be ... but the question arises: Why not?

The right answer has been known for more than 100 years (Minkowski 1908).
Simple ways of explaining it to general audiences have been known for
almost 50 years that I know of (Taylor & Wheeler 1965) ... and possibly
longer.

Making a video is never easy, but my whole point is that comparatively
speaking, doing things right is vastly easier than goofing around with
rulers that can't be trusted, clocks that can't be trusted, and masses
that depend on velocity in all-too-many ways. With a tiny fraction of
the effort Derek Muller put into the graphic of the Lorentz-contracted
train, he could have done something consistent with the modern (post-1908)
approach.

I can spell out specific constructive details on this if anybody is
interested.

The bad teacher's motto is: "I teach the way I was taught."

We're supposed to be better than that. When are we going to stop
teaching stuff that is more than 100 years out of date?

Students do tend to like videos like these. They are like candy.

You know what they like even more? Sex and violence. Where is this
going? Should we make a video of naked people shooting each other
at the speed of light, and call it a physics lesson? Are we really
that desperate for attention?

On 03/28/2013 08:34 AM, Paul Lulai wrote

Another point about PbI, Tutorials, and most Veritassium videos...
They often (perhaps not always) present to the student or viewer 2
or more conceptions that seem to disagree with each other. Both
conceptions may seem valid as a reflex thought process, so the
student needs to think about their response.

Details matter. One hugely important "detail" here is the /order/
of presentation.

The conventional and reasonable approach is to present the right answer
first. Thought-provoking contrasts come later.
1) Here is the highway.
2) Look what a nice highway it is.
3) Look at all the places this highway will take you.
4) et cetera
11) BTW, over there by the side of the road there is a ditch full
of poisonous thorny weeds. Don't go there.

Nobody with any sense /starts/ in the weeds.
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@phys-l.org
http://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l