Think About It, Vol. 2: Future Energy Resources

As Planet Earth hurtles into the 21st century, dwindling traditional energy resources will be a serious problem facing the children of today. In this video, second in a series designed to stimulate critical thinking skills in students, energy conservation issues are explored with Howie, the talking computer, and his schoolchildren users. First, the origins and uses of fossil fuels are explained, then nuclear and hydroelectric power. These are compared to non-traditional energy sources such as solar, geothermal, and wind power. The progression of topics is logical, and critical thinking skills are explained and emphasized. Unfortunately, the children are poor actors and are difficult to take seriously. Also, Howie the computer, who is the central figure of the program, is incredibly annoying in both his hollow monotone and ridiculous comments. One wishes the kids would simply switch him off and do their own research. The action moves a bit too slowly to really engage the interest of student viewers. However, if they can tolerate cheesy acting and boring stock footage of power plants, this video can be useful simply as a discussion prompt or a science unit introduction. An optional purchase for ages 8-12. (E. Gieschen)