Blog - Makematic

Can Instructional Videos Make You Smarter?

Can Instructional Videos Make you Smarter? is the title of episode 1 of my new podcast. It’s a series that makes educational research practical and accessible. Video is such a powerful learning tool. It has the power to motivate, engage and aid learning and retention. But most educators don’t use it to its full potential. I want to help them do so.

Each month, I’ll choose a paper, synthesize it and provide practical ways to apply the findings. There will also be additional resources for those who want to learn more. In the first episode, I delve into a 2019 paper, 25 Principles for Effective Instructional Video Design by Fyfield, Henderson, and Phillips. I’ve chosen this article because it’s user-friendly and provides some really useful takeaways. I also learned something when I read it and am excited to share what I’ve learned with you.

You can listen to the first episode podcast below “Can Instructional Videos Make You Smarter”

Access the resources here. Always keen for feedback, so don’t be shy. I can be contacted via the Video Supercharged Community here.

Employee Spotlight Blog: Andrew Brooking, Senior Producer

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when we create our videos? This month, we spoke to Senior Producer, Andrew Brooking. Since joining Makematic during the height of COVID-19 last year, Andrew has made a huge impact on the team. He spoke to us about how he joined the team and his responsibilities as a Senior Producer.Read More

What Are The Top Tools For Learning in 2021?

Each year an important list is compiled which thoroughly analyses all the tools that are currently being used across sectors of education – from early school years through to professional development.Read More

What You Can Expect From The Makematic Community: Makematic Vlog

In case you missed our announcement last week, we’ve decided to create a Makematic community!

In this episode, I get straight to the point and explained what exactly you can expect from this community. More importantly, what you’ll be getting when you sign up.Read More

Digital Media Literacy: How to Spot Fake News

Fake News is more than just a meme. It’s an ever-present, substantially growing quantity of misleading news articles, illustrations, videos, and more – available to you on your digital devices. From simply exaggerating the truth to full-blown lies or propaganda. It’s up to us all, to analyze and fact-check what we read and we’ll be providing our top tips and tricks so you’ll be able to decipher all the credible sources from the misleading ones.Read More

We’re Building An Online Makematic Community

So we’ve decided to build a Community! A community of educators and education professionals who are interested in improving their use of multimedia in the classroom. We have a lot of expertise in this area and we want to share that expertise with you!Read More

Employee Spotlight: Brandon McCann, Researcher

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when we create our videos? This month, we spoke to Researcher, Brandon McCann who has been at the company for over a year. He talked about how he got his role at Makematic, his responsibilities as a researcher, and much more.Read More

Unlocking the Impact of EdTech – EdTech News September 2021

The school year is back in full swing for many children, but unfortunately, on a global scale, there are still way too many kids who are missing out on any kind of education.Read More

Case Study: Telling Stories of Artifacts – The Raised Fist Afro Comb

The world we are living in is saturated with objects. Marie Kondo, who became a global sensation for helping people declutter, just goes to show that there is just too much stuff around us. We often take these objects and artifacts for granted, rarely inquiring into their origin story. One of the great things about hunting for artifacts is that the stories of most artifacts are usually not told. We often know about an artifact’s significance or importance but its origin story is often obscure or not really talked about.Read More

Is Your Child At The Centre of Their Education – Part Four

My previous blogs in this series have examined the impact child-centred education has had in education since its beginning with John Dewey in the 19th Century. Since then, it has rapidly progressed as a central pillar in any good education system. Moves in the UK and USA in the mid-late 20th century ensured that children were treated as individuals in schools. The introduction and then widespread adoption of educational technology in the latter 20th and early 21st century meant that child-centred education has now been fully enabled and we’ve reached a point where sophisticated AI-enabled platforms, such as Squirrel, plan learning pathways exactly suited for every student as an individual. Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3 of this series. Read More

Learning on Social Media: Makematic Behind-The-Scenes Vlog

Learning on social media is not the first thing people think of when they open Facebook or Twitter. But that’s what I decided to do in this vlog.Read More

5 Online Teaching Tips to Kickstart Your New School Year

Teaching and learning online doesn’t have to look like this

Another year of teaching online? It’s ok, we’ve got you covered!

2020-21 was perhaps the most challenging school year for many teachers around the world, with intermittent switching between lessons online and offline lessons. As the new school year embarks on us and the new variants causing further complications, teaching online will yet again feature heavily in 2021-22. If you are feeling anxious about the uncertainty already, check out this Q&A page from the WHO to get some clarity. Since there are just a few days (if you are lucky) left before the new school year starts, why not upskill yourself with a few tips and tricks that will make the transition to online teaching a little smoother?Read More