The Not-So-Common Virtues of the Common Craft Videos

Sometimes the best learning experiences have surprisingly simple media treatments. There are several media treatments that have become quite popular in recent years. One is the whiteboard-sketching model used in several television commercials, most notably by UPS. But another approach is the innovative, and now frequently imitated, "In Plain English" style used by Common Craft. See their website, and see also their home on YouTube.

In their numerous short videos, the folks from Common Craft, led by Lee LeFever, use cut-up bits of paper and move them around to convey the basic concepts and processes they are explaining. This is similar to what an animation would do, but with a distinctively low-tech aesthetic style. To be sure, much of the benefit from the videos comes from the outstandingly clear narration. But much of the value also comes from the very simple media usage, a clear counter-example to anyone who might argue that the use of robust Flash or the highest-quality video are necessary for great learning content.

You've probably seen at least a few of the more popular Common Craft educational videos already. They have created them in a range of topic areas, but most of them are on Internet-related concepts -- including several that are quite famous that explain social media / Web 2.0 concepts such as Twitter and wikis. Here is the current list of videos -- each under 4 minutes in length -- in this area:

• Blogs in Plain English
• Computer Hardware in Plain English
• Computer Software in Plain English
• Online Photo Sharing in Plain English     
• Phishing Scams in Plain English
• Podcasting in Plain English     
• RSS in Plain English     
• Social Bookmarking in Plain English     
• Social Media in Plain English     
• Social Networking in Plain English     
• Twitter in Plain English     
• Twitter Search in Plain English
• Web Search Strategies in Plain English     
• Wikis in Plain English     
• World Wide Web in Plain English 

My advice: take a few minutes each day to watch one of these videos to solidify your knowledge of these important concepts, and help drill home the point that when it comes to multimedia treatment in learning content, fancy and advanced uses are not always required.

— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com)

Comments

[Lee LeFever]

Thanks a bunch for the kind words and links Tom! It's been a fun and exciting making the videos - more coming soon!

[Steve Howard]

I've been telling my team for the last year that if we can apply the same clever-yet-simple approach to our training that it would be a great boon for our learners.

Great stuff, Common Craft - and Thank You!

[Dentist San Jose]

Those are very good sources for simple training skills in English. Thanks for sharing them.