Michael Wysession has authored four video courses as part of the “Great Courses” video lecture series: How the Earth Works (2008); The World’s Greatest Geologic Wonders, (2013); National Geographic’s Polar Explorations (2015); The Science of Energy: Power and Resources Explained (2016). These video courses are not only for personal individual use but also for use in libraries, high schools, and college courses, and are a major Earth science resource for home-schooled children. As such, these courses have been an effective informal education vehicle for many people to learn about the modern geosciences.
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The Science of Energy: Resources and Power Explained
The Science of Energy is a 24-lecture video course that provides a thorough and understandable introduction to the field of human power use. The videos cover the science behind the human needs and use of energy, as well as the environmental, political, economic, and socials factors involved as well. The course covers all of the major sources of energy used in the past, today, and possibly the future (coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and more). Question asked and answered include
- Where does most of our energy come from, and how is it sourced?
- How do energy technologies, both primitive and cutting-edge, generate power?
- How do we store energy—and will there be enough to meet our future needs?
- What are the pros and cons behind the forms of energy currently available to us?
- How might we harness potential future untapped energy sources such as nuclear fusion?
More information can be found at the Great Courses web site.
These videos can also be watched at Apple TV, and audio versions can be listened to at Audible.
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The World’s Greatest Geologic Wonders
This Teaching Company course, The World’s Greatest Geologic Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites, consists of 36 half-hour lectures that describe more than 200 of the world’s most spectacular geologic wonders, providing geologic information about their formation and evolution. Geologic Wonders teaches geology through a place-based-learning approach, using spectacular geologic sites around the world as case studies of the wide range of geologic processes. Each lecture has a main focus, but a “Top 5” list shows the remarkable diversity of geology around the globe. More information on the course can be found at The Great Courses web site.
These videos can also be watched at Apple TV.
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How The Earth Works
This Teaching Company course, How the Earth Works, consists of 48 half-hour lectures that describe the fundamental processes that continually shape our planet. The series is a comprehensive Earth science course that incorporates many aspects of historical geology and environmental geology with a strong focus on the human-relevant processes of natural hazards, natural, resources, human impacts, and climate systems. More information on the course can be found at The Teaching Company’s web site, in their promotional piece, and the course’s introduction.
These lectures can also be heard at Audible.
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National Geographic’s Polar Explorations
The 22-lecture Polar Explorations video course, in collaboration with National Geographic, provides multiple perspectives on the Arctic and Antarctica from five different scientists, explorers, and photographers. A travelogue, science class, and history lesson rolled into one comprehensive course, Polar Explorations provides the viewer with the context necessary to fully appreciate the splendor of the poles, including insights into:
- geology
- astronomy
- zoology
- oceanography
- history
- culture
- photography
More information can be obtained at the Great Courses web site.
Videos can also be watched at Apple TV.