A Video Field Trip takes us to see awesome things that we will never be able to witness by any other method such as…

Great demos that we cannot do here at school.

Visits to SkyLab and the Space Station to see experiments in zero g.

Trips to the moon for more learning.

The great atom smashers in action revealing the makeup of matter.

Tours of other planets, supernovas, black holes, and other mysteries of the universe.

Watching real scientists doing real experiments.

And much, much more!

Only by videos can we observe such things.  Would you have your instructor stand before the class by the hour just talking about all this?  That would be very bad news!

So why do so many students complain that educational videos are boring ?  Even the Mythbusters put up a WARNING, Science Content sign whenever they present scientific background.

We live in a time where we have become accustomed to endless ACTION in our entertainment.  Movies and video games are packed with violence, car chases, explosions, machine guns, blood and guts all over, sex, and endless speed and destruction.  Without these, we are bored.

Hence, when your instructors show a video that lacks the above entertainment requirements, we are turned off.  “This is boring”.

What can we do to keep a proper perspective on the difference between entertainment and learning?

Well, let’s assume an attitude that the educational video has a purpose to show us important principles and is not to be judged by it’s entertainment value.