Amazing Concept Videos
Plus, of course, older children are encouraged to take notes, jotting down key facts and cool ideas that they learn about. (And cool things are aplenty in the jam-packed videos!)
There are plenty of videos on the site. They are very short, most just a few minutes long. The information moves very quickly, so I highly suggest making sure there are no distractions while it plays! There is so much information included that you don’t want to miss it!
Each video is a mix of people talking, photographs, graphics, etc. Everything moves fast, like I mentioned, but it definitely kept our interest.
We found the videos to be fun, entertaining and very informative. Each video is roughly 5-10 minutes in length and include some really cute graphics that really appealed to the kids and had them paying attention. The combination of the shorter videos and the appealing graphics seemed the perfect formula for my boys.
This curriculum can be used as supplemental material or it can stand alone. It is designed for ages 4-18. The littles will love watching the videos and your older students will be challenged as they watch the videos and go through the questions at the end.
CrossWired really is a full science curriculum that has several different components that make it perfect for multi-sensory teaching. You have entertaining videos that keep a student’s attention, and seem to be the perfect length almost every time
I really like all that CrossWired has to offer families. We have been watching videos and verbally answering questions for a few weeks now. So far we have been using CrossWired as a supplement to our current science studies, since the girls are in a science co-op.
We love watching the videos. The videos are entertaining, and educational. The girls enjoy not just being talked at by the person doing the video, but seeing the examples that they show.
When we watch the core videos, we all gather round. We often watch through it twice in a row and then do the quiz.
Here’s how we used the videos:
Fluid Dynamics Video 1: This is the one on Fluid Dynamics and Bernoulli. We watch the video. That’s it. Day one watch the video. Day two watch the video again but with the worksheet printed out for taking notes. For day three we watch the video a third time and see if you still agree with your notes and answers. On day four we take the quiz. It’s a lot longer than this would have to take but because there is no rush it’s working for us.
For days four and five we take advantage of the other information available with each unit. So we’ve watched a video, number one, we know it inside and out. Now it’s time to work on some of the experiments and other information that is related to this one topic.
The videos are so fun to watch, and they keep the kids’ attention so well. Most of them involve images and clips of things to help explain the concept. There are also people that talk about the science concepts and explain the things that are happening within the video. They tell stories, and explain things with language that kids can understand easily while also introducing new vocabulary words and explaining them.
My daughter was glued to the laptop and wouldn’t let me get a better picture of her (hey, I was lucky I got that, once she realized she could pull the course up on her ipad, she disappeared to watch the videos! As you can see the videos feature BRIGHT pictures and graphics that REALLY grab your child’s attention, and KEEP it!
Videos: are short enough to keep the student engaged, but packed full of learning. There are printable questions to go with the videos, and an online quiz that is graded automatically.
My kids have mostly been watching the videos and filling out the quizzes. In the Sound topic, they really loved the Bats & Moon Explosions video. I think that my kids have been surprised at how much they’ve been enjoying the videos. They are very kid-friendly and informative in a fun way.
They present lessons using animation and graphics, fun sound effects, cool photos, and music. They will capture even the youngest viewer’s attention. We immediately loved the engaging videos. They are fast paced though, so you have to pay attention, or you’ll struggle with the quiz that follows.
We liked these videos so much that I called my husband in to watch with us, because I knew he would love them too. He is Mr. Science and I figured he would be a great gauge on this material. Well, he loved them too, and as we watched, he would nod and say, Yeah, that’s correct, yeah, that too, cool…
I found myself learning quite a bit as I previewed some of the material for myself. The quality of the videos is excellent. The videos are short enough to keep the attention of younger students.
Mia loves the core videos. They help her to learn independently as she watches the videos and works through the Sound worksheets. The videos vary in length but all under eight minutes. I can see my daughter’s enthusiasm in wanting to learn more! I give these core videos a thumbs up because they help me to facilitate learning more in-depth.
Overall, we really liked CrossWired Science. We started with First Timers on the Fluid Dynamics and my 9-year old really loved it.
What was great is that the lesson self-track provides the quizzes to track comprehension, and provides lots of extras to work through. The lessons are short and very easy to get through. The quizzes were good and not too intense but very good at checking for comprehension of the subject.
After working through the course over these past three weeks my son is commenting on how much he is learning and how he loves his freedom to follow rabbit trails.
Honestly, I have learned an awful lot by watching the videos with the children. Younger children will need more guidance and will need help with the reading portions, but the videos can be enjoyed by all ages.
Our family has really been liking the videos because they are so packed full of information but are short enough to hold the attention of even my youngest child.
Each of the units has a core of 8 videos which run the gamut from introducing the subject to ‘deep’ within the subject. But each video can be watched by all and you will glean more the older and more advanced in science that you are.
The core videos range between 4 – 8 minutes long. They keep the attention of my VERY active 10 year old as well as my older teens.
I am super impressed with this science curriculum! Olivia (5th grade) and I really enjoyed the videos. Most of the time, science videos we have watched have not been enjoyable, but the way they present things is wonderful. And, somehow, they present it in a way that is retainable!! (Imagine that!)
Olivia and I both thought that sometimes they are talking too fast in the videos… That being said… we both were still able to answer the quiz questions, so maybe they knew what they were doing when they spoke at those speeds. 😉
CWS uses graphics and photos to illustrate what is being taught so that kids can use both sides of their brains, and link the pictures to what they are learning, and RETAIN the info!
A week after watching the video on airplane aerodynamics for example, my daughter was asking my dad if, when he was flying, he could feel the pressure of the atoms under the plane’s wings, and she proceeded to show what she meant JUST as she had seen in the video! Score! She LOVES science, but this series is helping her to better retain scientific FACTS!