The Story So Far

The initial idea

3 or 4 years ago I was seeing how hard students were working in class but many were not going home and consolidating their knowledge in traditional ways such as rereading their notes or using a revision guide. For a subject like Chemistry this is crucial if students are to retain their new found knowledge. I then had the idea to use social media to engage students with their learning outside of school hours. Initially I used Twitter as my school already had it’s own account so it wasn’t a great leap of faith to set up one for the Science Department. Each day I would post a short chemistry fact that pupils could read in a matter of minutes, perhaps on the bus coming to school. Unfortunately this had limited impact since I only had around 60 followers after a year.

A steep learning curve

Over the summer of 2022 I decided to move to Youtube as I thought it would be more engaging if students were able to watch short videos rather than just reading text on Twitter. I also liked the way playlists could be used to arranged videos into the same topics that students will study at school. It was a very steep learning curve as I had never made a film before or uploaded anything to Youtube. Thankfully, our IT technicians at work were very generous with their time teaching me how to edit videos.

Financial Backing

I soon realised I needed a bit of a helping hand financially to purchase a video camera so I didn’t have to track down the school one each time I wanted to make a video. I also badly needed a good quality microphone system to alleviate a lot of the echo that was arose from filming in the largest science lab in the school that has no carpets to stop the sound from bouncing around. I searched online for possible STEM grants and came across the prestigious education charity SHINE. (Check out their website at shinetrust.org.uk) In December 2022 I applied online for a small development grant not knowing that I had entered their national competition for teachers called Let Teachers Shine. This is a scheme that supports teachers that have innovative ideas to help disadvantaged students in the North of England.  I soon heard back that I had made it through to the shortlist of projects that they may want to support. In the spring of 2023 I pitched my idea in the form of an online panel interview and soon after I was delighted and proud to hear I was one of the winners for that year.  I knew that I would benefit not only from the funding but also the programme of coaching and workshops that are provided by SHINE to support their grantees.

Collaboration

After winning the award from SHINE I received some very favourable attention in the local press and was subsequently contacted by Philip Harris who supply science equipment to many schools throughout the country and also provide technical support to science teachers and technicians. (Check out their website on philipharris.co.uk)We had many discussions about exciting ways we could collaborate, for example, I made several GCSE required practical videos for their website to support teachers and technicians who may be new to the profession. It’s an organisation that I am still proud to be collaborating with. 

Getting down with the kids

Whilst my Youtube channel was steadily growing, it was suggested to me by the comms team at SHINE that I should try TikTok.  Prior to this, I had never even seen a TikTok video let alone uploaded one to the platform.  Time to go back to school and get learning how to use it. This time my mentors were my Year 10 students.  They gave me lots of pointers along the way.  I soon came to realise that it can be a very effective way to reach KS4 students and use it as a way of directing them towards my Youtube channel which is where I believe the deeper learning can occur.

My online presence

Early on in my project I set up a static, one page website using the website creator provided by IONOS but I was never very happy with my amateur attempts at building a web page. I approached software engineer Leonardo Torres who I had known for many years. (Check out Leo’s website at leotorres.co.uk) I knew he was the right person for the job as I knew he had the technical know how and he was also someone I could completely trust with the project that I had invested so much of my time in. After a few discussions about what I needed from my website, Leo soon improved it beyond recognition, extracting as much as possible from the “off the shelf” website from IONOS. However, I’m excited to say we will be taking this to the next level from September when Leo begins to build my own bespoke website that will have a lot more functionality.

Time to up my game

In late 2023, as the number of followers and subscribers began to grow faster than I expected I realised it was time to improve the production levels of my content. I decided to reapply to SHINE but this time for the full level 1 grant. I went through the same process of an online application followed by a panel interview the following spring. They were impressed by the traction that my project had gained so far and agreed to grant me the full amount that I had asked for.  I was so grateful as it will allow me to purchase much more professional recording equipment. Crucially, it will also allow me to have 1 day per fortnight off timetable to devote entirely to my project. Somehow I have already managed to make 167 Youtube videos which take around 5 hours each to film, edit and upload. I have made a similar amount of TikTok videos in addition to these.

Where are we now? 

I am proud to say that I have been helped along my journey so far by some incredible people that it’s been a pleasure to collaborate with. My Youtube channel now has over 1700 subscribers and I have had well over a million views on TikTok. That’s a lot of students that I have helped so far! After 25 years of teaching I strongly believe education can provide young people with social mobility to achieve their aspirations irrespective of their backgrounds. Unfortunately for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, their families cannot afford a private science tutor so I aim to be that person who can support them through my online content on Youtube and TikTok.

What comes next for Revise Chemistry with Mr B…

As we get ready for the start of a new school year in September 2024, of course I will be improving the quality of my online resources using the extra time and technical equipment at my disposal.

However, there is also a very exciting new development for Revise Chemistry with Mr B…

You will have to wait until October to find out what that is! (Unless you have a sneak peak at my plans by checking out the SHINE website)