WatchKnow -- which launched Monday...is an Internet search engine that links teachers, students and parents to thousands of free educational videos and slide shows.
The idea of developing an educational video online search engine or "video encyclopedia" started in 2007 with a Lakeland philanthropist, who wishes to remain anonymous, and members of the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, along with its president, Tom Pittman. Foundation leaders later enlisted the help of Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger.
An early version of the site was launched in 2008. This year, with the help of area teachers and librarians, more than 10,000 videos [officially 11,189 videos as we write this post} were posted to the newly redesigned Web site.
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The videos, Sanger said, can be an invaluable teaching tool.
"We have videos that can spark the interest of a child when a book cannot," Sanger said. "Children who would never read about a topic might, at least, watch a video about it."
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Sanger added the goal is to have more than 100,000 posted videos in the next few years. If WatchKnow is successful, Sanger said he may help develop a similar site aimed at college-age students.
See Also: Learn More About WatchKnow.org
This page contains info about:
+ Project History
+ Advisory Committee
+ Media Review Panel
+ Partners
+ Sources
Searching WatchKnow is fairly robust once you get the hang of it. First, select the age range (3-18) using the age filter. Then, enter search term(s). Click search. Next, review results by category. The number of videos in the top-level categories are shown and change depending on the age range selected.
Now, click the + (plus sign in green) which reveals the first level of subcategories (the number of videos listed are also dynamic based on the search) and make your selections. Again, click the + (plus sign) to move down one more level. Keep doing this until you get to the desired sub-category.
Btw, it's also possible to browse the entire database by selecting an age range (3-18 for everything), by leaving the search box blank and then clicking search.
We found them by working our way through the following categories (we left the search box empty):
+ History
+ World War II
+ World War II Pacific Theatre
+ Pearl Harbor
WatchKnow requires very little "keyword" searching and more browsing through the different facets/categories. Yet another example of the power of faceted searching!
There is also a WatchKnow email discussion list and a change log that shows videos being deleted, title changes, having the description changed/modified, etc. We wish more sites offered this feature. Finally, some of you might want to consider joining the site. It's free. Three types of accounts are available: simple, confirmed, and contest. More about these accounts here.
See Also: Larry Sanger is also the Founder of Citizendium.The FAQ does a good job how Citizendium and Wikipedia differ. More on the topic here.
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