WikiPremed Videos

[MedPR]

Is it possible to speed up the wikipremed lectures? I'm trying to watch them, but they go so slow and I was wondering if it was possible to watch them on 1.5x speed or something.

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[Integrated MCAT Course]

Is it possible to speed up the wikipremed lectures? I'm trying to watch them, but they go so slow and I was wondering if it was possible to watch them on 1.5x speed or something.

Especially the first videos are too slow. They get a lot more interesting, so try to make it through! (Some of the students I was working with didn't have the strongest background so we had to take our time at the start.)

I really need to re-cut those.

Contact me and I'll be happy to send them to you in Quicktime format and you can speed up the playback using Quicktime if you think that will help.

 

[DocGodfather]

All those videos are really free of charge? How have they been for you, MedPR? I'm going to run through the ochem and genchem this weekend.

 

[DocGodfather]

Especially the first videos are too slow. They get a lot more interesting, so try to make it through! (Some of the students I was working with didn't have the strongest background so we had to take our time at the start.)

I really need to re-cut those.

Contact me and I'll be happy to send them to you in Quicktime format and you can speed up the playback using Quicktime if you think that will help.

Hey John, did you help create those videos? Thanks in advance before I view some of them over the weekend. Time to start the studying if I want to be ready by the upcoming summer exam.

 

[MedPR]

Especially the first videos are too slow. They get a lot more interesting, so try to make it through! (Some of the students I was working with didn't have the strongest background so we had to take our time at the start.)

I really need to re-cut those.

Contact me and I'll be happy to send them to you in Quicktime format and you can speed up the playback using Quicktime if you think that will help.

I'll keep trying to watch them on the website, hopefully they get better! I tried to watch Module 3 Physics today but I swear the first 1/3 of the video was just talking about what the wikipremed class syllabus is.

All those videos are really free of charge? How have they been for you, MedPR? I'm going to run through the ochem and genchem this weekend.

Honestly I haven't watched very many, primarily because there has been a long non-content related introduction to the ones I've tried to watch.

 

[TXKnight]

Hey John, did you help create those videos? Thanks in advance before I view some of them over the weekend. Time to start the studying if I want to be ready by the upcoming summer exam.

I don't think he only "help" creating them. He actually created the whole wikipremed thing, it's his baby. That guy in those videos is John..

 

[Integrated MCAT Course]

Honestly I haven't watched very many, primarily because there has been a long non-content related introduction to the ones I've tried to watch.

I am grateful for your honest reporting of your experience. I get really great feedback from folks who complete the course but don't necessarily hear very often from those who don't make it far with the course and move on.

There are several idiosyncratic aspects to WikiPremed, I think, that could be better explained on the site involving the structure of the program. There is also the fact that the videos were captured from live small group teaching, so there is a bit of a relaxed manner and responding to social cues that gives the videos a different feel than similar work out there where students aren't present.

Regarding the structure, the sequence is designed so that the vocabulary of each topic builds into the next topic in an interdisciplinary way. I do often step back to give a sense of the bigger picture. These moments are not 'non-content'. It really is important to ultimate success on the MCAT that the knowledge base have a good accessible structure from beginning to end, and that you achieve this sense of things as early as possible, long before main content review is complete. You can review everything in depth, but if you start at page 1 of content review and divide it by the time you have to get to the end in one careful sequence, without stepping back often, the result is poor understanding and retention.

So a big difference with the WikiPremed videos is that everything fits together as a unified course with a curriculum, not simply content review. You are responsible for all the disciplines of general science on the MCAT, so WikiPremed takes advantage of the full content to build a deeper understanding of science than is possible through discrete undergraduate level coursework. It's a lot of work, but it really pays off on the MCAT. However, because the conceptual vocabulary in the course builds in a spiraling way, if you drop in on videos randomly out of sequence you will not have the thread and some of the manner of teaching will seem a bit odd. At the part of the course you are mentioning, the third module, we are preparing to unite the mechanics from physics with electrostatic force to have a clear idea of binding energy right at the beginning of chemistry. To achieve the conceptual breakthroughs to then take into chemical thermodynamics later in the course, it takes a kind of self-conscious attention to the structure of the syllabus. It isn't 'non content' at all, but about building the underpinnings of a set of sophisticated mental performances.

That being said, the videos could definitely be faster paced. I definitely say 'umm' way too much, but they are the best I could do at the time, and I think they represent the best approach to MCAT review. I do need to re-do a number of them, especially cutting down the time it takes to get through the mechanics, because there is a definite drop-off in viewership through the first couple of modules. I hope folks will forgive their lack of polish and at least accept that what is idiosyncratic about the videos is not through carelessness or lack of experience.

 

[MedPR]

I am grateful for your honest reporting of your experience. I get really great feedback from folks who complete the course but don't necessarily hear very often from those who don't make it far with the course and move on.

There are several idiosyncratic aspects to WikiPremed, I think, that could be better explained on the site involving the structure of the program. There is also the fact that the videos were captured from live small group teaching, so there is a bit of a relaxed manner and responding to social cues that gives the videos a different feel than similar work out there where students aren't present.

Regarding the structure, the sequence is designed so that the vocabulary of each topic builds into the next topic in an interdisciplinary way. I do often step back to give a sense of the bigger picture. These moments are not 'non-content'. It really is important to ultimate success on the MCAT that the knowledge base have a good accessible structure from beginning to end, and that you achieve this sense of things as early as possible, long before main content review is complete. You can review everything in depth, but if you start at page 1 of content review and divide it by the time you have to get to the end in one careful sequence, without stepping back often, the result is poor understanding and retention.

So a big difference with the WikiPremed videos is that everything fits together as a unified course with a curriculum, not simply content review. You are responsible for all the disciplines of general science on the MCAT, so WikiPremed takes advantage of the full content to build a deeper understanding of science than is possible through discrete undergraduate level coursework. It's a lot of work, but it really pays off on the MCAT. However, because the conceptual vocabulary in the course builds in a spiraling way, if you drop in on videos randomly out of sequence you will not have the thread and some of the manner of teaching will seem a bit odd. At the part of the course you are mentioning, the third module, we are preparing to unite the mechanics from physics with electrostatic force to have a clear idea of binding energy right at the beginning of chemistry. To achieve the conceptual breakthroughs to then take into chemical thermodynamics later in the course, it takes a kind of self-conscious attention to the structure of the syllabus. It isn't 'non content' at all, but about building the underpinnings of a set of sophisticated mental performances.

That being said, the videos could definitely be faster paced. I definitely say 'umm' way too much, but they are the best I could do at the time, and I think they represent the best approach to MCAT review. I do need to re-do a number of them, especially cutting down the time it takes to get through the mechanics, because there is a definite drop-off in viewership through the first couple of modules. I hope folks will forgive their lack of polish and at least accept that what is idiosyncratic about the videos is not through carelessness or lack of experience.

I completely understand that an important aspect of MCAT prep is relating topics to each other. I guess "non-content" was a poor term to use. I think I prefer to try and connect topics throughout a lecture, rather than before or after lecture. For instance, instead of saying "Last week we learned about A, and today we're going to learn about B. B is related to A in the following ways..." I prefer to relate topic A to topic B throughout the lecture that topic B is covered in.

Just personal preference. I will definitely keep trying your videos as they have been informative

 

[pkwraith]

All those videos are really free of charge? How have they been for you, MedPR? I'm going to run through the ochem and genchem this weekend.

There was about 50% of my MCAT prep last year. I remembered the physics and chem videos were pretty useful at getting me up to speed (hadn't done any of the sciences for 3+ years).

I just watched a couple videos per day, and just mixed it in with active studying. Really nice resource.

 

[muhali3]

There is also http://www.khanacademy.org which I had used in addition to Wikipremed

 

[typicalindian]

wow these videos are fantastic!! Thanks John! I'll be supplementing SN2ed schedule with these while I'm on break since I have so much free time.

 

[Integrated MCAT Course]

Over the past two weeks I've had several reports of folks having trouble viewing a couple of the WikiPremed videos.

Specifically, there have been reports of problems with Organic Functional Groups - Part I and Magnetism - Part II. I received two reports for each video, but I can't duplicate the problem on either my Mac or my PC. This is after both videos have performed well for over a year.

As a general request to anyone watching WikiPremed videos, PLEASE send me a message if you have run into any technical difficulties. I think the problem is isolated to just a few users, but I am not sure. I'm trying to get to the bottom of it.

All the best.

 

[1stmeds]

John, this is an exceptional resource you put together. truly, my hat's off to you on this one. This is a great service to the student community!

 

[amberkas11309]

I just want to give a shout out to john as well. The videos are very helpful and I respect the amount of time that must have went into making them. It's not often you find a site like this where you are not being asked to pay.

 

[mcloaf]

John, thank you so much for putting together the WikiPremed stuff.

Your explanations of the physics concepts with a focus on the spots that often catch students were absolutely invaluable to my studying. I hated MCAT physics before discovering your videos, whereas now I love the physics questions as I view them as more or less free points. I've been recommending them to everybody I can.

I didn't find the GenChem, OChem, or Bio sections of the site as helpful but that may be a reflection on my own background rather than the site (I had very weak physics, with little to no conceptual emphasis in undergrad, nearly all just solving for variables with a calculator).

Also, I'd suggest you put a donate option on your site if you haven't yet (if it's there, I couldn't find it when I was using your site last month). I already had a full set of study materials from TBR and didn't want to wait to get the WikiPremed materials, so I didn't purchase them and instead just used the vids. But I would love to compensate you for all of your work on the videos and the site!

 

[1stmeds]

Also, I'd suggest you put a donate option on your site if you haven't yet (if it's there, I couldn't find it when I was using your site last month). I already had a full set of study materials from TBR and didn't want to wait to get the WikiPremed materials, so I didn't purchase them and instead just used the vids. But I would love to compensate you for all of your work on the videos and the site!

 

[Integrated MCAT Course]

Also, I'd suggest you put a donate option on your site if you haven't yet (if it's there, I couldn't find it when I was using your site last month). I already had a full set of study materials from TBR and didn't want to wait to get the WikiPremed materials, so I didn't purchase them and instead just used the vids. But I would love to compensate you for all of your work on the videos and the site!

I've been thinking a lot about the really very kind suggestions in this thread to introduce a donate option at WikiPremed. I really appreciate the idea, but the trouble is that every time begin to write the text for such an option, I get stuck. I write something like 'Your donations make WikiPremed possible' when what I actually mean is 'My oldest son needs braces' or 'You don't know how many years this project has taken me'. It just doesn't work for me.

The basis for my hope is that the printed publications at WikiPremed can stand on their own, so that WikiPremed can work as a business without asking for donations. The printed works are a good value proposition. However, if you don't feel like ordering, don't worry about it. I am glad WikiPremed has helped you in your learning and achievement! If too many don't buy anything, that just means that I need to increase the value or lower the price, just like any other business. For example, I just added a disc to the printed bundle with the WikiPremed videos in MPEG-4 format for offline viewing, i-phone and android. I like this way of doing things. If WikiPremed can earn its money by providing a good value, I greatly prefer that to holding out the hat.

All the best.