CADMIO: Creating and Curating an Educational YouTube Channel with Chemistry Videos

Abstract

YouTube is one of the most known and used social networks among students in the world, and undergraduate chemistry students are no exception. Undeniably, YouTube can offer several advantages for complementing university lessons in an asynchronous manner. There are many chemistry channels available on the internet; however, they are mainly too general or run by nonprofessionals, resulting in misconceptions or inaccuracies that lead to student confusion. In this contribution, we present CADMIO, a peer-to-peer reviewed YouTube channel with more than 60 videos in Spanish language, 2,550 subscribers, and 6,000 hours of accumulated views over the first year. These videos focus on introductory and advanced topics in inorganic chemistry. CADMIO is a powerful, versatile, and useful didactic tool, in which each video lesson presents basic concepts in a clear and concise way, thorough methodologies to enhance problem-solving skills, and an important variety of exercises to help students learning. The wonderful and outstanding response of CADMIO on the web and in the Faculty of Chemistry encourages us to improve the channel, and recently, it has even become a Social Service program in Mexico. Our unique concept for revised video content, secured by an editorial board consisting of professors at the Facultad de Quı́mica, UNAM, make CADMIO a truthful tool for teaching and learning chemistry.

Cognitively Loaded: An Investigation of Educational Chemistry YouTube Videos’ Adherence to Mayer’s Multimedia Principles

“…Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of educational YouTube videos has become more prevalent, meaning it is even more essential that teachers are able to select appropriate multimedia tools to support student learning . Since this project’s inception and the bulk of data collection, which largely occurred before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous studies that detail the use and efficacy of online or other multimedia videos in the classroom. − Some of these studies apply more generally to video-oriented classrooms such as flipped classrooms which use preclass materials (PCM) to introduce content. − In one case, creators included in our study were specifically called out as potential sources for PCM . We maintain that, particularly in this new era of video content usage, not only are content creators responsible for generating pedagogically sound content, but educators also have a responsibility to attend to principles of how students learn when selecting relevant content to include in their courses.…”

“…28−30 In one case, creators included in our study were specifically called out as potential sources for PCM. 28 We maintain that, particularly in this new era of video content usage, not only are content creators responsible for generating pedagogically sound content, 31 but educators also have a responsibility to attend to principles of how students learn when selecting relevant content to include in their courses. This may take the form of considering cognitive load theory when attending to video creation, or other theories which support learning, such as metacognition.…”

Student-Generated Videos to Promote Understanding of Chemical Reactions

“…For example, in 2019, YouTube was used by 73% of Spaniards between 16 and 30 years old and Instagram by more than 65% of people in the same age group . Furthermore, students use video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, not only for recreational purposes but also to gather information and the formation of chemical topics. , …”

Unit Kemps: A Matching Card Game to Learn Physical Quantities, Units, and Symbols

“…Moreover, a comprehensive understanding of the result of a physicochemical calculation depends on how units influence the answer . In this regard, SI units are meant to be used together with the quantity calculus, allowing dimensional analysis and unit cancellation, and thus providing a double-check on the correctness of a calculation. , However, it has been repeatedly observed that while this is a crucial topic, first-year undergraduate students do not master it completely, generating further issues with more advanced content. , In general, students are faced with the essential assignment of learning and memorizing a broad variety of physicochemical units without necessarily understanding the relationship between the physical quantity, its unit, and its symbol, much less how it is measured experimentally. − This is particularly evident when SI units are introduced for the first time in college courses for all branches of chemistry. , To tackle this troubling issue, some original efforts have been done. , Especially interesting is the work of Davies, who proposes a roadmap to solve stoichiometry problems emphasizing dimensional analysis and the use of units to verify the solving process. This roadmap tends to favor active learning and reasoning from simple and easy-to-understand diagrams.…”

“…14−19 This is particularly evident when SI units are introduced for the first time in college courses for all branches of chemistry. 11,20 To tackle this troubling issue, some original efforts have been done. 21,22 Especially interesting is the work of Davies, 4 who proposes a roadmap to solve stoichiometry problems emphasizing dimensional analysis and the use of units to verify the solving process.…”