Educational Videos

[IkeWagner]

I'm looking to purchase some educational DVDs to watch on my computer. I need some quality stuff to give me a break from my studies every now and then. I don't have a TV, or a fast enough internet connection to allow me to watch many internet videos, and I need something to watch other than my Richard Pryor DVDs.

What I have in mind are single videos or series' having to do with art, literature, history, the solar system, earth, biology, physics, etc. (not chemistry, KB). I want videos that are packed with information and require attention. Generally, the kind of the thing I'm wanting here is what you'd see on the discovery or history channel.

I have some things in mind, but I thought I would check here before I spend a lot of money on this. Any recommendations?

[jlcct]

While I can't offer any ideas, I would like to hear what you have in mind. I could get into that too. A Good idea.

[bravos4evr]

Life, Planet Earth, Blue Planet Seas of Life, heck pretty much anything hosted by David Attenbourough is gonna be good....(if you get Life get the British version, the USA version is narrated by Oprah and it's distracting).

Get some seasons of Top Gear! it's a great UK show about cars, it's very entertaining and not dull at all

[IkeWagner]

Life, Planet Earth, Blue Planet Seas of Life, heck pretty much anything hosted by David Attenbourough is gonna be good....(if you get Life get the British version, the USA version is narrated by Oprah and it's distracting).

Get some seasons of Top Gear! it's a great UK show about cars, it's very entertaining and not dull at all

Yeah, the Attenbourough stuff is something I have in mind. I know that the visuals are spectacular, but is it packed with information? The few clips I've seen seemed to involve minimal information, presented through narration, used to set up the amazing visuals. What I'm asking is this: when an animal, say, is being talked about, are we given interesting (non-obvious, non-superficial) facts about evolutionary history, habitat, diet, etc?

[bravos4evr]

I think they are informative without being boring to the layman. If the shows were made for biologists only the rest of the world wouldn't watch them

[Hobbes]

I don't know if your interests tend toward astronomy at all, but the series "The Universe" seems to match your requirements. Not only is it visually interesting, but it is packed with in-depth information about the universe and the physics that rule it.

Of course, much of our "knowledge" of the origins of the universe is theoretical.

[Chris_Moderato]

Everyone should watch the documentary series "Cosmos" from 1980. It's on Netflix instant watch right now. I watched it. It's great, in spite of the slightly cheesy special effects. A lot of the information is still relevant. Can't beat Carl Sagan.

[KB 34]

There's a great series about understanding the correlation between ionization time, energy, and resulting ions and peaks that show up in mass spectrometry. Wait, that would be one of my classes. No one would watch a documentary on that myself included.

I really enjoyed the series "From Earth to the Moon." From a space history standpoint it's really accurate and does a nice job telling stories in an entertaining way. It's not highly technical and focuses on a variety of things including moon geology, development of the lunar lander, reporters, and the lives of the astronaut's wives.

[Hobbes]

Everyone should watch the documentary series "Cosmos" from 1980. It's on Netflix instant watch right now. I watched it. It's great, in spite of the slightly cheesy special effects. A lot of the information is still relevant. Can't beat Carl Sagan.
I love Cosmos. They did update it somewhat on one of the anniversary releases. And I've always loved Carl Sagan. It was commonplace to make fun of his style of speaking back when the series first aired, but I found it engaging.

It is somewhat dated and you are right about the effects, but it is still loaded with great information and explains complex topics in an accessible style.

[IkeWagner]

I appreciate all the recs. Yesterday at Best Buy I bought two DVDs: "America's Serial Killers" and "The Universe". Together they were less than 20 dollars and give me 12 hours of video. The Attenbourough stuff is insanely expensive at BB (if I decide to get any of it it'll be through Amazon); even the Whoopi version was over 50 bucks.

Good start; in the market for more!

[Middle Man]

I make my kids watch this entire series of educational videos. They're pretty good.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA_JxuelTtA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rBidCkJxo

[Freddy_Ballgame]

Try your local library - great selections and price!

[Chris_Moderato]

He said he was looking to purchase some educational videos.

[Freddy_Ballgame]

My suggestion falls into the "before I spend a lot of money on this" portion of his post.
If he finds some he likes he may then purchase them. If not, he hasn't wasted his money.
You guys got nothing better to do than give me BigWorm?

[Freddy_Ballgame]

How about educating me.....where's the thread I just posted? Who quashed it and why?

[Chris_Moderato]

My suggestion falls into the "before I spend a lot of money on this" portion of his post.
If he finds some he likes he may then purchase them. If not, he hasn't wasted his money.
You guys got nothing better to do than give me BigWorm?

Yours was an excellent suggestion, Freddy. I was just pointing out that he mentioned initially that he was looking to buy videos.

[IkeWagner]

Last week I ordered "The Presidents" (http://www.amazon.com/History-Channel-Presents-Presidents/dp/B0007VY3ZK/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1284341359&sr=1-1), and today I went out and bought The Universe Season 4. Can't wait to watch the former; I've always wanted to learn more about some of the early US presidents.

[Hobbes]

I enjoyed "The Presidents" when it was aired on the History Channel.

[Chris_Moderato]

Stay clear of "America: The Story of Us". It's thin on history and thick on American folklore.

[Hobbes]

Stay clear of "America: The Story of Us". It's thin on history and thick on American folklore.
I didn't watch when it aired because it looked to be more about the style of the presentation than substance.

[Chris_Moderato]

I didn't watch when it aired because it looked to be more about the style of the presentation than substance.

Yeah, you're right. I had a similar impression going into it. However, I decided to give it a shot. I gave it about a half hour, but it was really, really disappointing.

[Dreamscape]

I kinda liked it. Not all that informative as you said, but it's appealing for the those of us who just like to waste an hour or whatever with Americana.

[bravos4evr]

They just didn't give themselves enough time per president to really give out anything more than ancillary info. Honestly 2 hr's per prez at a minimum was required.

[Chris_Moderato]

They just didn't give themselves enough time per president to really give out anything more than ancillary info. Honestly 2 hr's per prez at a minimum was required.

Well, I agree with this for the most part. I mean, William Henry Harrison wasn't even in office for two hours.

[bravos4evr]

Well, I agree with this for the most part. I mean, William Henry Harrison wasn't even in office for two hours.

Heck they should spend more time on the theory he was poisoned!

[Hobbes]

They just didn't give themselves enough time per president to really give out anything more than ancillary info. Honestly 2 hr's per prez at a minimum was required.
Well sure, but nobody is going to watch 80-plus hours of programming on the Presidents.

[bravos4evr]

Well sure, but nobody is going to watch 80-plus hours of programming on the Presidents.

Ummmm... yeah i really might.... not in a row!!! But since it's the history channel and they would repaly it 8000000000000 times, I would prolly end up watching them all eventually... I need a hobby

[IkeWagner]

I finished "The Presidents" a few days ago (it was excellent), and will start on "The Ascent Of Money: The Financial History Of The World" and "Genius: The Science of Einstein, Newton, Darwin and Galileo" when they arrive in the mail.

You can really move through these if you watch a few 45 minute episodes every day.

[AhbBrave]

Band of Brothers... Lol its educational...

[Freddy_Ballgame]

I admire your efforts, Ike! All I've been looking at lately is the recorded "Burn Notice" marathon and some recent football games!

[IkeWagner]

I admire your efforts, Ike! All I've been looking at lately is the recorded "Burn Notice" marathon and some recent football games!

Time well spent. Burn Notice is a great show.

[IkeWagner]

So, I've watched a lot of stuff over the past month. These two stood out:

American Experience: TR: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt. 225 min. Packed with information which is well-delivered (solid narration and erudite talking heads), good footage, and a "soundtrack" I found enjoyable. Roosevelt is a fascinating figure; everyone should know about him. This DVD was so good (I've watched it three times all the way through) that I plan to get every American Experience video about a president. A few days ago I ordered the Woodrow Wilson.

Evolve (History Channel); 650 min. This series is about biological evolution. Gives the very basic evolutionary histories of such important and salient adaptations as shape, size, jaws, venom, speed, flight, etc. Explores the environmental pressures which led to these adaptations in the creatures with which they are commonly associated (speed in Cheetahs, venom in snakes, size in whales, etc.) Great footage. This series of videos helped me to form a slightly more complete picture of the evolutionary story and how we (humans) fit into it.

On Amazon, the Roosevelt can be had for less than 15 bucks, and Evolve for a mere 7.