Website review by Paul Cancellieri, Common Sense Education | Updated May 2013
The Futures Channel
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The Futures Channel

Non-interactive videos on STEM careers with limited teacher support

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Learning rating
Editorial review by Common Sense Education
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Grades
6–12 This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
Subjects & Skills
Math, Science, Character & SEL, College & Career Prep
Price:  Free, Paid
Platforms:  Website
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Take a look inside

5 images
The main page showcases the current free video selection.
Videos range in length and can play full-screen.
Some videos include lesson plans for hands-on activities.
In some categories, nearly every video requires a subscription to view.
The Futures Channel store sells videos on DVD.

Pros: The videos cover many interesting careers and clearly demonstrate to students the need for math and science knowledge beyond school.

Cons: The high cost of subscriptions doesn't seem to match the limited support and the non-interactive nature of the site.

Bottom Line: Videos on The Futures Channel are good but not worth the price tag -- especially with the lack of instructional support.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers could show a video from The Futures Channel as part of a career-awareness event, or to answer the timeless question, "When am I ever going to need this?" However, the videos and activities don't have sufficient pedagogical quality to be used on their own.

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Standards:

The Futures Channel showcases a limited number of their vast collection of short (three- to seven-minute) video clips about real-world uses for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills. Non-subscribers can browse several categories, including Agriculture, Art & Music, Design, and Space Science. Associated lesson plans are listed below each video. For a monthly or annual fee, all videos are available for online streaming. Each profiles a project or career that uses science and math and focuses on the types of middle and high school concepts professionals in these careers use. The way the interviewees talk about these skills can seem, at times, forced and artificial. The videos, however, are well-produced with good sound and video quality.

Some videos have printable lesson plans associated with them. The lessons aren't particularly innovative, but they do reinforce the same math or science concepts mentioned in the video clip. Curriculum alignment is vague, stating major topics and grade ranges ("Geometry 7-11") rather than specific correlation to the Common Core standards. Also, the videos lack accessibility support, with no closed captioning or non-English translations. Though the videos could be a useful addition to classroom lessons, The Futures Channel needs to substantially boost its instructional support to make a subscription worthwhile for teachers. 

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

Well-produced videos are of a good length, and the topics promote STEM careers very well. The appeal for students is limited, though, as the experience is very passive.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

The focus is on career awareness and reinforcement of the idea that math and science are needed for many modern occupations. Unfortunately, the content is presented without any interaction or assessment.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

With each video, students and teachers can access a synopsis, (somewhat) relevant lesson ideas, and still photos. Videos don't have closed captioning or audio in other languages.

Common Sense reviewer
Paul Cancellieri Classroom teacher
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Key Standards Supported

Creating Equations

  • HSA.CED.1

    Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational and exponential functions.

Expressions And Equations

  • 6.EE.2

    Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.

  • 7.EE.1

    Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.

  • 8.EE.7

    Solve linear equations in one variable.

  • 8.EE.5

    Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.

Geometry

  • 6.G.2

    Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths by packing it with unit cubes of the appropriate unit fraction edge lengths, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths of the prism. Apply the formulas V = l w h and V = b h to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

  • 7.G.2

    Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.

  • 8.G.3

    Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.

Interpreting Functions

  • HSF.IF.4

    For a function that models a relationship between two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables in terms of the quantities, and sketch graphs showing key features given a verbal description of the relationship. Key features include: intercepts; intervals where the function is increasing, decreasing, positive, or negative; relative maximums and minimums; symmetries; end behavior; and periodicity.

Ratios And Proportional Relationships

  • 6.RP.2

    Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”1

  • 7.RP.2

    Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.

Similarity, Right Triangles, And Trigonometry

  • HSG.SRT.6

    Understand that by similarity, side ratios in right triangles are properties of the angles in the triangle, leading to definitions of trigonometric ratios for acute angles.

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