We will be offering a refer-a-friend program. Now is a good time to start planning. Here's how it will work:
You'll log into the Explainer Academy and access a link that's unique to you. The link contains a discount code for 30% off the Readable Videos course.
Share the link as widely as possible (social media, friends, newsletters, blog, etc.) "Save 30% with this link."
When someone uses your link to purchase the course, they get the 30% discount and you get a coupon for 30% off your future purchase of the course.
This program will be available on launch day. I will send you specific instructions then.
Start thinking about how you'll share the link. Consider friends, teammates, peers, and people you connect with on Slack, Discord, etc.
“This course takes you from zero to hero with the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’. No new applications to learn, and no expensive equipment to buy; use what you probably already have. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best! Ain’t that the Common Craft way?”
- Sam L. (UK)
“Briefly, this course is a gem. It is packed with useful techniques, best practices, and tips to create Readable Videos that are clear, concise, engaging, and accessible using common, simple tools.
This post is an issue of the Common Craft Newsletter. Subscribe here.
We are getting close to launching our new course "How to Create Readable Videos" and figured a Readable Video would be the perfect way to explain it. The video is 2.5 minutes long and you can find it on YouTube.
Quotes from professionals who recently took the course:
“My favorite professional development courses give me practical steps and inspire me to use them. The Readable Videos course is exactly that – two weeks after taking it, I’m using Readable Videos in job support and training for my organization. The time I invested in the course was very well spent.”
- Dawn Weiman, Library Trainer
“Having just completed the Readable Videos course, now I am able to create instructional videos without the hassle of voiceover, multiple retakes, or special software. His examples, tips, shared resources, and complete walkthrough made the process completely understandable. I have already created/shared a readable video and have several others in mind.”
Mastodon is known to many as an alternative to Twitter. But that's not the full picture. Mastodon is an example of a new class of social networking tools that are powered by people instead of companies. This video uses a rich analogy to explain why that matters and what people can expect in using Mastodon.
The video is shared on YouTube with a Creative Commons license:
I hope you'll consider sharing the video. It's available for easy sharing in multiple locations:
Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned and applied to almost any situation. This video tells the story of a team who uses critical thinking in a robot building competition. It teaches:
The difference between an active and passive thinker
Why critical thinking matters and how to apply it
Why success depends on high quality information
How to use critical thinking to identify the best information
We now have 115 explainer videos in our library. Each video is designed to explain a subject clearly in a few minutes. Common Craft videos can help save time in your classroom, course, training session or presentation. Here are the most recent additions:
All Common Craft videos can now be watched in full, with a watermark. To use the videos in your teaching, consider membership or purchasing video packs.
This video, 113th title, is now available for embedding, downloading, or displaying via the Common Craft video library. It's a part of our series on study skills and meant to help educators teach the concept of team work.
Using an example of a robot building competition, this video follows the story of two teams with different approaches to teamwork. Using their example, we can see what works, or not, for winning the competition. It teaches:
What all successful teams have in common
Why clear communication is more important than skills or experience
How to develop a sense of team strengths and weaknesses
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge, which is a science explainer video competition for people 13-17, recently declared a winner for 2020.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition, aiming to develop and demonstrate young people’s knowledge of science and scientific principles; generate excitement in these fields; support STEM career choices; and engage the imagination and interest of the public in key concepts of fundamental science.
Students age 13 to 18 from countries across the globe are invited to create and submit original videos (3:00 minutes maximum) that bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics. The submissions are judged on the student’s ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in engaging, illuminating, and imaginative ways.
The Challenge was founded in 2015 by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Needless to say, we're big fans of the competition. One of the biggest problems we face is making science more understandable for the general public. By asking young people to create these videos, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is not only educating the public, but teaching essential media creation skills. Explainer videos, when focused on education, can play a transformational role in helping people become engaged in science and feel confident about their knowledge.
The winner of the challenge was Maryam Tsegaye of Canada, who explained Quantum Tunneling.
