OpenCourseWare brings reality TV to OpenCourseWare

Step into my lab: MIT OpenCourseWare brings reality TV to OpenCourseWare


A new series of videos to be published this fall follow fourteen MIT freshmen through their introduction to hands-on science.

Each year, groups of MIT freshmen are introduced to MITs laboratory environment through a four-week January course called 5.301 Introductory Lab Techniques. The stakes are high—students who pass the class are guaranteed a job in an MIT research lab. This fall, MIT OpenCourseWare will follow a group of fourteen students as they face the challenges of learning Chemistry the MIT way through a unique series of videos called ChemLab Boot Camp.

The videos shot in a style that mixes the geek fun of open educational resources with the immediacy of reality TV, brings viewers closer to the experience of being an MIT student than ever before. Follow the students as they struggle to master the intricacies of working with solvents and compete to create the largest crystals. The videos are part of a broader effort funded by the Dow Chemical Corporation to foster interest in science and engineering careers.

The episodes will be released on each week though the fall, starting in September.

Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1fMW_bUWjU