Quite some time ago, I wrote a blog post reviewing Salman Khan's "One World Schoolhouse". That book introduced me to the concept of the flipped classroom, in which the teacher provides educational content in an asynchronous format (usually on-line), with the expectation the learner will access the material on his own schedule at his own pace. The in-class time with the teacher is then reserved for working through problems, clarifying concepts and developing a deeper understanding of the material.
Recently, I posted a link describing a mnemonic device to assist in learning brainstem neuroanatomy. Inspired by Khan (and the proliferation of educational content on YouTube) I have been experimenting with on-line lecture formats, and subsequently reworked my brainstem material into video format. In other words, you've read the book, now see the movie.
The first video (about 7 minutes) reviews the anatomical location of the major cranial nerve nuclei:
The second is shorter (just over 3 minutes) and covers the major longitudinal tracts of the brainstem:
Lesson learned: It is hard to produce high quality on-line content. A degree of technical expertise is required. The ability to stand in front of a large audience and be relatively engaging does not automatically transfer to the on-line virtual lecture hall.
The production value of these is fairly meager, and the narrator a tad monotone. Hopefully the information comes across.
(Note: If you are actually interested in the content, the videos are easier to watch on YouTube. Click on the following links to go directly to the site: Brainstem Part I, Brainstem Part II)