For auld lang syne

For the last post of the year I thought that I would take a look back at some of the topics that we have covered on the blog since we launched it in April. We’ve tried to post example videos from the gallery on topical subjects and with so much going on in the world there has been plenty to write about…

The terrible earthquake that occurred in the Sichuan province of China in May was one of the first subjects that we posted clips on. More than 90,000 people were killed or are still missing from the disaster, and around 5 million lost their homes.

As fuel prices soared to £5 a gallon for unleaded petrol in the UK and tax on fuel hit the headlines, we also posted a video that looked a thousand years into the future and at what might happen if carbon emissions and global warming aren’t curtailed.

In June we uploaded several Key Stage 3 geography clips to give an idea of what is available in the gallery for this subject. There was a post on people who live in the shadow of active volcanoes in Ecuador and Montserrat, a clip on population pyramids, and another on Britain’s overseas territories.

The fire and subsequent destruction of the Weston-super-Mare pier at the end of July was very saddening. We posted this video as a tribute to the heyday of piers during the Victorian era.

One of the highlights of 2008 has to be the Olympic Games in Beijing. Awesome venues and incredible opening and closing ceremonies took the spectacle of the Olympics to a whole new level. Britain had its most successful Olympic performance for a hundred years, winning nineteen gold medals to finish fourth in the medal table. We posted several videos on the Olympics, including this one about a mechanical device used by the ancient Greeks to ensure that the start of each race was fair. China hosting the Games also provided the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into this fascinating country and so we uploaded clips looking at its geography, culture, and the one-child policy.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shajahanmoidin/

As the summer drew to a close and many people went away for the August bank holiday, we posted a couple of clips exploring the environmental impact of tourism. Then it was back to school and the start of the new year.

Our most popular post of 2008 has been this one on World War Two, written at the beginning of September for the 69th anniversary of the start of the conflict. The rest of September saw posts about the human impact on the rainforest in Brazil, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and a history clip on the invasion tactics of the Vikings.

We discussed the Teachers TV survey of favourite school-based movies in October, with ‘Dead Poets Society’ eventually being the winner, followed by ‘Kes’ in second place, and ‘The Breakfast Club’ in third. There was also a post on animals in Autumn, and we participated in Blog Action Day 2008 with clips examining the nature of poverty. The month ended with a post about Divali and a spooky one for Halloween.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountaineerpics/

November was another busy month, starting with Bonfire night, and Barack Obama’s historic Presidential election victory. We remembered the fallen with clips for Remembrance Day, and there was a further post with one of my favourite videos from the gallery about Christmas charity shoe box campaigns.

All in all, quite a packed few months. We hope that you have found our posts interesting and that the example videos have been useful in school, and provided a flavour of what Heinemann Video Gallery has to offer. Thanks for visiting our blog and best wishes for a happy New Year.

Title of clip	New Year Celebrations
Curriculum location	Primary Module A  >  Festivals
Description	Images of New Year celebrations from around the world: Trafalgar Square as the clock strikes midnight; Tower Bridge with fireworks; Chinese New Year firecrackers and dancing dragons; bonfires and New Year’s food in a bento box, Japan; Sydney Harbour Bridge with lit boats; Times Square, New York.
Duration	1 minute 58 seconds

 

Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery.