WatchKnow Web Service Gives Busy, Resource-Strapped Teachers a Boost With One-Stop Access to Free, High-Quality Videos

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With U.S. classrooms under pressure to improve test scores, Mississippi fifth grade teacher Kerry Matthews frequently gets asked, "What's behind your success?" For four years running, her Center Hill Elementary School students have recorded the highest science scores in the state.  

"My first response is the use of technology," says Matthews. "We watch a lot of videos. I use WatchKnow on a daily basis to introduce concepts to the kids." (Click here to see WatchKnow educational videos being used in the classroom.)

WatchKnow (WatchKnow.org) is a free web service for teachers, providing an easy-to-use "super directory" of the best K-12 educational videos available on the Internet. Founded as a non-profit online community, WatchKnow is based on a Wiki framework and philosophy, so volunteer teachers and educators review, approve and categorize videos for easy access and use.

Originally developed by Wikipedia co-founder Dr. Larry Sanger, WatchKnow has indexed over 22,000 educational videos into a directory of more than 3,000 categories. Users can quickly search for and find relevant, quality videos, guided by titles, descriptions, age-level information and ratings.

"Think of WatchKnow as YouTube meets Wikipedia," says Dr. Joe Thomas, WatchKnow CEO. "Research shows that using video in the classroom improves learning. Whether the subject is Pablo Picasso, the Peloponnesian War or polynomial equations, WatchKnow delivers a one-stop online resource for enriching and enhancing the learning experience."  

Introducing WatchKnow Classroom and the WatchKnow iPhone App

In the spirit of a true Wiki community, today WatchKnow announces a new feature called WatchKnow Classroom. "We asked our users what would be helpful, and WatchKnow Classroom is the direct result of teacher feedback," says Dr. Thomas.

WatchKnow Classroom allows teachers to create a customized and secure virtual classroom for organizing, uploading and sharing instructional videos. By setting up their own Classroom, teachers can drag and drop selected videos, track student use, create and upload their own video content, and customize the site with school logos and colors.  

"I love it!" says Matthews. "You can search for videos and then pull them into your own WatchKnow Classroom so you have them saved. I just create my own mini-directory, drop videos into folders and bam! I've got videos for school tomorrow and I've got videos for next year when I'm teaching the lesson again."  

Today WatchKnow also announces WatchKnow Educational Videos, a free companion app to the WatchKnow website. Available as an iTunes download, the new app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. "We believe there's always an opportunity to learn," says Dr. Thomas. "WatchKnow's new iPhone app plays directly to our vision of being able to view free educational videos over the Internet anytime, anywhere."    

About WatchKnow

Online educational web service WatchKnow is a program of the non-profit 501(c)(3) Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. It delivers tens of thousands of great, short videos, and other media, that visually engage school kids and bring their class lessons to life. Volunteer teachers review and organize the content for relevance, resulting in a giant directory that uses the Wiki format to make it easy to find just the right videos. Join our community at WatchKnow.org.

SOURCE WatchKnow