Videos are a great way to supplement your child's learning. Regardless of their age, most kids like to watch movies. So when we can find videos available online for free - it's only natural that kids and parents get excited. I am sure that is why websites like YouTube have become such a popular website.Unfortunately, many parents soon discover that while there are lots of great videos on YouTube, for instance all the Khan Academy videos, there are lots of bad videos too. This leaves parents wishing for a website that would specialize in videos that are kid-friendly. And, if that dream website could also specialize in "educational videos" parents would be even happier. Well, such a website exists, and it's called WatchKnowLearn.
WatchKnowLearn is a website that specializes in educational videos that can be watched for free over the Internet. All of their content can be viewed any time - any where. You don't need to have an account and you don't have to purchase a subscription.
The dream for WatchKnowLearn began in 2007 by a Memphis-area philanthropist and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. Larry Sanger, the co-founder of Wikipedia, was asked to lead in the development of this non-profit educational video service. The vision for WatchKnowLearn was simple:
We believe everyone should have the same opportunity to learn. The best way to make this possible, we believe, is to organize into one, super directory the hundreds of thousands of good videos currently available on the Internet. To make this a reality, we invite teachers, instructors and educators to suggest videos for inclusion into our directory, and then to review, approve, and assign those videos into appropriate categories using a wiki framework and philosophy.
In just a few short years, the WatchKnowLearn website has grown with leaps and bounds. They now boast a collection of over 20,000 videos, covering 3000 categories. Their video collection is targeted for kids of all ages - elementary to secondary schools (K-12). Videos on the site are 100% Kid Safe!
Here are just some of the topics covered:
- Language Arts
- Math
- Science
- History
- Social Studies
- Languages
- PE & Health
- Computers & Technology
- Arts
- Life Skills
- Vocational, Career Development, Business
- Philosophy, Religion, & Ethics
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Holidays & Special Days
In addition to being a depository for educational videos, the website has been designed as a "wiki, probably because Larry Sanger was involved at the beginning. Being a "wiki" means that educators (that means us homeschool parents too) are encouraged to suggest additional videos to be included, and to review, approve, and assign those videos to the appropriate subject categories. I especially like that there are additional features, like an age filter, and a search box. This helps us sort through the website to find videos that best meet the needs of our particular family.
It's terrific when an educational resource like this is made available to everyone - public school students and homeschool students. While there are other websites that offer streaming videos to watch online, most of them seem to come with a subscription fee and/or only accessible to public schools. So, in my opinion, the WatchKnowLearn website is quite a find.
WatchKnowLearn Now - Demo
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