Instructional Resources

As we explore instructional resources they will be listed here for reference. If you have any resources you enjoy using or that you would like to share, contact us via the feedback form.

RESOURCES

As the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation explains, OER are “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. Learn the ins and outs of using OER in the classroom and get help finding helpful resources here.
This is a list of channels that produce consistent, high-quality content on a wide variety of topics.

STEM

ASAP Science
YouTube channel with short, interesting science videos.

Bad Astronomy
YouTube channel about astronomy, space, and science.

C.G.P. Grey
Short, engaging videos on various topics, such as science, history, and culture.

How Stuff Works
Videos on subjects from science and tech to money, health, and culture.

Minute Physics
YouTube channel of short, engaging Physics videos.

MIT Video
MITs YouTube channel.

Numberphile
Engaging videos on math, statistics, et al.

Smarter Every Day
Videos that explore everything from the Amazon rain forest to social media.

Smithsonian Channel
Short videos and whole shows on a wide range of topics including science, nature, culture, and history.

Veritasium
YouTube channel with videos about science, education, and more.

Stand-up Maths
YouTube channel dedicated to explaining and demonstrating real world uses for math and statistics.

99% Invisible (Podcast)
99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture.

Healthcare Triage
Healthcare Triage explores current topics in the health care industry.

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A History of the World in 100 Objects (Podcast) 
Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programs that retell humanity’s history through the objects we have made.

Alternate History Hub
Alternate History Hub is a channel dedicated to exploring “what if” things had happened differently in history.

Big Think
“Actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.” Videos on everything from science and technology to culture and religion.

Biography.com
Biographies on everything from prominent historical figures to modern day cultural icons.

Freakonomics (Podcast)
Stephen Dubner “explores the hidden side of everything” from and economical/sociological side.

History Channel
Web-based information and videos on historical topics and shows from the History Channel.

Invisibilia (Podcast)
An array of topics about human behavior and how we interact with one another

Keepin’ it 1600 (Podcast)
If you want political commentary from real Washington insiders, then listen to the informative and hugely entertaining “Keepin’ it 1600.”

The Memory Place (Podcast) 
Short, surprising stories of the past, and finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award and one of iTunes Best Podcast of 2015.

National Geographic (YouTube)
Videos on science, history, culture, and more.

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast 
A philosophy podcast where each episode focuses on a short text.

PBS Video
Videos on a wide range of topics, from history to culture to science.

RadioLab (Podcast) 
Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich tackle scientific and philosophical topics.

Smithsonian Channel
Short videos and whole shows on a wide range of topics including science, nature, culture, and history.

MISCELLANEOUS

BBC (Podcast) 
Podcasts on everything from politics to sports.

The Bowery Boys (Podcast) 
An engaging, intimate look at NYC, including its people and familiar landmarks, buildings, and streets.

C-Span Video Library
Videos from C-Span

ClassHook
ClassHook has collected video clips from movies and television that can apply to topics discussed in a variety of course types. These clips are allocated to topics and sub-topics that can be browsed. For example, the clip “Ellen DeGeneres Show: Stressed Out” is categorized under Stress > Coping Mechanisms. Videos are also tagged with letters that denote how complex the video is, and how applicable to your students it may be.

Crash Course
Crash Course is a collection of professionally produced videos covering a wide range of topics, from computer science to philosophy.  Crash Course also has its own website: thecrashcourse.com.

FedFlix
Movies from the U.S. Government, including training and historical films.

Google Talks
The Talks at Google program brings authors, musicians, innovators, and speakers for talks centering on their recently published books and current culture.

iHeart Podcast Network (Podcast)
The iHeartPodcast Network is home to more than 750 original podcasts that span every category from business, sports, spirituality and technology to entertainment, family, comedy, and true crime

Hippocampus
Hippocampus is a collection of videos produced for educational use. It is designed to be incorporated into K-12 courses, but some content may overlap with lower-level college courses.

Library of Congress Teacher Resources
Classroom materials from the Library’s vast digital collections in their teaching.

The New Yorker Fiction (Podcast) 
Some of your favorite authors are brought onboard to read New Yorker short stories aloud, and then get interviewed, too.

NPR Fresh Air (Podcast) 
Journalist Terry Gross’ interviews from the long-running NPR show.

The Open University iTunes U
Podcasts, videos and more from The Open University.

TeacherTube
K-12 lessons, videos, and audio for all subjects.

TED
TED has multiple channels for finding resources. The first is TED – ED, a YouTube channel that focuses on creating lessons for students of all ages. Second is the channel for TED Talks. They are short talks (18 minutes or less) on a wide range of topics that have been presented at TED conferences all over the world. These two channels are full of valuable videos.

This American Life (Podcast)
Ira Glass hosts this storytelling podcast, which feels like it’s from an early era of radio.

YouTube Education
YouTube educational videos on a variety of subjects for all levels.

By definition, engagement tools are tools used to interact with your students. Any software or program can engage students if used creatively.

Explain Everything
Explain Everything can be used as a whiteboard during class, as well as a recording software for instructional or explainer videos. Draw, insert, and organize content on the boards to share with your students.

PowerPoint Recording
Create a more engaging presentation with the free Office Mix plugin for PowerPoint. Insert questions, polls, and video into your presentation and receive feedback from viewers.

Flipgrid
Online video discussion. You add topics and your students respond with short videos.

Kahoot!
Allows you to create short online games that your students can participate.

Vocaroo
Allows you to record voice messages and then generates a link so you can share within your classes.

Poll Everywhere
Use Poll Everywhere to collect feedback or organize available times for meetings.

Webex Live Meetings
Interact with your students live through Webex and Personal Room. Within Webex, you can engage students with polling, annotations, and assignments. For more information on Webex, visit our Webex page here