Our Product is Explanation
All posts for “ourwork”
New Video: Social Networking (Facebook)
Posted by: leelefever on January 12, 2012- 9:14am
Categories: Explanation, facebook, New Video, ourwork, socialnetworking
Today we've published a new video: Social Networking (Facebook).
This video is a much-requested sequel to our video on Social Networking. As you likely know, a lot has changed in the world of Social Networking as Facebook has emerged to be one of the standards - and this video is aimed at why. It covers the basic ideas through the story of a woman who becomes a member and discovers how the social network and status updates help her feel more informed and engaged with her interests. ... Continue Reading
New Video: Plagiarism Explained by Common Craft
Posted by: leelefever on October 25, 2011- 10:26am
Categories: Common Craft Video, education, Explanation, ourwork, plagiarism, video
Today we’re publishing a new video: Plagiarism Explained by Common Craft
One of our most suggested titles, this video is aimed at educators who are on the front lines of helping students of all ages understand and avoid plagiarism.
In researching this video it became clear that there are two types of plagiarism - intentional and unintentional. While we cover intentional plagiarism, we also highlight the situation where a person has positive intentions, but lacks information about what... Continue Reading
It's true! We just launched our new website and business. Here’s a quick review:
Common Craft is now a video subscription service. You or your organization can become a Common Craft member and have your own online library of all current and future Common Craft videos for use in classrooms and on the web.
Membership features include:
Instant access - your own growing library of Common Craft videos
Sharing tools - easily embed, display or download any video
Worry-free membership - no extra fees... Continue Reading
Lessons Learned in the Custom Video Industry
Posted by: leelefever on July 7, 2011- 11:16am
Categories: custom videos, Explanation, Lesson, ourwork
Recently Cisco released a study that predicted that by 2013, 90% of all consumer IP (Internet) traffic will be video. 90% two years from now. Wow.
I imagine a good portion of this will come from mass media; news, TV shows, Netflix, etc. I’m also quite sure that a growing number of these videos will be short videos that are made for the specific purpose of promoting and explaining an organization’s products and services. Indeed, I think nearly every organization with a website could benefit... Continue Reading
Video: Computer Viruses and Threats - Explained by Common Craft
Posted by: leelefever on June 1, 2011- 10:18am
Categories: Common Craft Video, Explanation, net safety, ourwork, video, viruses
Today we're publishing a new video called Computer Viruses and Threats - Explained by Common Craft
This video is part of a series on Net Safety and focuses on the basics of viruses, worms and trojans. It also includes information on the role of anti-virus software, software updates and awareness in preventing problems.
This video, along with our complete library, will be available through our new offering which will be available this summer. If you're interested, you can sign up to be... Continue Reading
Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure for Microsoft (Custom Video)
Posted by: leelefever on April 28, 2011- 5:07pm
Categories: Custom Video, Explanation, microsoft, ourwork, security, video
The video below was made with the Trustworthy Computing Team at Microsoft. As we learned, there is a debate brewing in the world of software security. It's a debate about how to report problems that are discovered in software - what the industry calls "vulnerabilities". I'll let the video speak for itself on covering the issues.
For this post though, I want to talk about the use and power of visual metaphors, which was a big challenge for this project. Here's a question for you: how do you... Continue Reading
We're approaching the 4 year mark in our video business. On April 27th, we'll celebrate the anniversary of posting "RSS in Plain English" on YouTube and our website. Since that time a lot has happened, but I think it's interesting that the RSS video, which we did on a whim, established much of the style for which we are known around the world.
It's these anniversaries that prompt me to step back and take a look at the data and wonder how it all happened. In a nutshell, we're into the 10’s of... Continue Reading
Why Do Animated Videos Work?
Posted by: leelefever on February 22, 2011- 4:00pm
Categories: animation, Explainer Network, Explanation, ourwork
We’re approaching the four year mark in making Common Craft videos and over this time, I’ve always wondered: why do videos work? In fact, I think the bigger question is not just our videos, but any short animated video that is designed to educate. What is it about this style of video that hold people’s attention and helps them learn?
First, what is an animated video?
Let’s talk about what it’s not. An animation is not live action - animated videos don’t usually have actors, sets and stages. ... Continue Reading
Project Based Learning - Explained: A Custom Video Project with BIE
Posted by: leelefever on December 13, 2010- 4:00pm
Categories: Custom Video, education, Explanation, ourwork, teaching, video
When people ask about the inspiration for our style of videos, I often say that our videos reflect the way that I wish I had learned in school. My learning style wasn't a good match for the way I was taught.
Recently we completed a custom video project with the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) that focuses on a Project Based Learning or "PBL", and boy did it open my eyes. I can now see that I needed teachers who put PBL to work. I needed to get up from my desk and engage. I needed to work on... Continue Reading
For a couple of years now, through our work with videos, I’ve realized that licensing is an often neglected business model. Not only is a potential revenue source, it’s a way to work with people in a positive and permission-based manner.
Patrick O’Keefe, author of Managing Online Forums, recently wrote a post that got me thinking. It’s called “Rethinking the Cease and Desist - Don’t Threaten Fan Communities and Groups - License Your Brand to Them.” Patrick is a professional community manager... Continue Reading