EDUKWEST #73 with Derek Muller of Veritasium

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I’m glad that I had the chance of interviewing a fellow education YouTuber for EDUKWEST. Derek Muller is the creator of Veritasium (an element of truth) that aims at bringing Physics closer to you, the web 2.0 way.

Ever since I was in school my teachers have never really achieved lighting the fire for Physics in me. I don’t want to overly blame them for it. We were a class of nearly 30 students, and it was certainly easier to work with the motivated ones who understood quickly. I wasn’t really struggling with the subject, I was doing OK let’s say, sometimes it was even interesting but mostly I was sitting through the classes, and often it was a rather tedious experience. Some extra help or motivation, I believe, would have made me perform way better.

Now, back then (mid nineties) I wasn’t hooked on the Internet. I had just started using a computer I think in 1991 or ‘92 maybe, and Google wasn’t even born.

The thing we had back then was a show on German TV called Telekolleg (set of courses on tele) and even though teacher/presenter seemed to come right from the eighties, he explained different topics in Physics really well. I think, I’ve always been a visual type of learner and I picked up quite a few things watching this show.

The problem was, of course, that something like “on demand” didn’t exist, so it was more or less a matter of luck and coincidence which topic they were talking about. I should say that I didn’t buy the VHS cassettes which now somewhat appears to be a mistake. Maybe, I would be a Physicist today, probably not.

Enough revelations about my performance in the sciences and back to Veritasium. Derek combines, of course, some talents in his personality that contribute to the success of the videos. He’s a Physicist who did some research in education which helps doing the conceptual part, and he also sat down and learned how to professionally edit videos besides investing in professional equipment. I think, it is inevitable to have those skills and to constantly learn new things in or to become successful on YouTube, unless you have the means to pay somebody who does the work for you.

Today’s audience is so used to professionally made videos with a good presenter, and the Internet is keeping up with film and TV. Veritasium vidoes are really well-made and follow and interesting or witty storyline.

Derek and I also discuss the fact that it’s not enough to put great content out there but to market this content via social media, and how it helps to have a good branding strategy.

I feel that there is a ton of useful tips in this videos, especially when you’re into producing video content yourself, and when it’s about Physics or also other sciences you now know what I’m watching.

In addition to this EDUKWEST you should also watch my KWestions episode with Derek where we talked in more detail about the methodology behind Veritasium and why Khan Academy might not work as good as many educators think.

Audio only:

EDUKWEST #73 with Derek Muller of Veritasium

Derek on the Effectiveness of Science Videos:

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