Making Complex Ideas Simple

Whenever I do a workshop, training or talk I like to start out with a video. And I always try to find one to capture what I am going to be doing or saying.

For example, in a recent talk about teacher leadership I showed this video to a group of administrators to get them thinking about how they lead and how teachers in their buildings might lead as well.



But there is one group of videos that I can always count on when I am trying to take complex technology and societal subjects (like cloud computing or the financial crisis) and make them accessible for users.

Commoncraft (run by the most awesome Lee and Sachi LeFever) takes these complex subjects and presents them "In Plain English." Their videos are some of the most clever and creative but, they really to make technology more accessible by helping users understand in the simplest terms how to know if a website is secure or what exactly is a bit torrent.

They have several groups of videos but just a few highlights.

The social media section is full of great examples of things like what is social media?



Or this one on how Twitter works:



Or maybe you know someone who needs to be enlightened on how Wikipedia works:



There is also a great section  on basic technologies like computer hardware, what the world wide web is, or how cloud computing works. Or this one, a favorite of mine (that I have to watch often) on augmented reality:



There are also section dedicated to Online Safety, money, and just things you might wonder about like how the Electoral College works when we elect a president, how CFL lightbulbs work, or what is my personal favorite, Zombies in Plain English:



So head over to Commoncraft and see what they offer. There are tons more videos to choose from and I bet you will learn something too.