Sherry Hsi, SMILE Principal Investigator and Research Director at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, talks about why howtosmile.org decided to create its own digital videos of hands-on activities and also make it possible for users to upload their own videos.
"Videos lower the barrier to anyone who might be intimidated by working with hands-on materials. They allow us to reach educators in yet another way--not just through downloadable instructions for hands-on activities, but also with visual and aural representations of the activity itself.
"And digital videos let SMILE community members contribute their tips, tricks, and mods of an activity to the broader informal science teaching community.
"Because digital video cameras and production tools are so ubiquitous in mobile computers and smart phones, videos are a great way for people to share STEM knowledge and exchange teaching practices. It's a wonderful way to grow distributed expertise across multiple learning organizations.
"Above all, we really enjoy watching the videos that the creative users of howtosmile.org are posting. We're thrilled that people are making, linking, and uploading videos, and are excited about the potential for future SMILE users to learn from user-made videos."
See also: Step-by-step instructions on how to upload your video to SMILE.