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Videotapes aim to teach with humor

If the Virginia-based Cerebellum Corporation has its way, students' lists of recommended class materials will include VCR tapes as well as the standard books and coursepacks.

The company has introduced a new line of instructional videotapes aimed at college students. The series, called "The Standard Deviants Video Course Review," is named after a comedy troupe that appears on the tapes.

The tapes aim at education through the use of humor. The Standard Deviants perform skits throughout the tapes, often incorporating concepts from the academic subjects.

Chip Paucek, Cerebellum's co-president, said the idea for the tapes came from his observations on his college experience. "Professors who were able to spice up the material a little bit were much more effective ... not only did you enjoy it more, but you learned more."

Paucek said he and Cerebellum co-founder James Rena found nothing on the market that addressed this concern. Though there are many educational videotapes aimed at younger ages, few are available at the college level.

Both Paucek and Rena decided to leave government jobs to form Cerebellum. The two knew each other from their college years at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Universty students were not sure that comedy could really work with some of the subjects in the series. LSA first-year student David Sowards-Emmerd said, "There's not that many funny things you can say about calculus."

Other students said they found the humor useful. LSA first-year student Gregg Lanier said he had been exposed to educational videotapes during conferences he attended during high school.

"If the speaker can be funny, then the material is easier for students to understand. The humor helps you remember the material," Lanier said.

Paucek said many students are skeptical of finding humor in academic coursework. The videos, he said, contain comedic excerpts to lighten up the material. "We don't always try to make the comedy (reinforce the material). ... Relaxation is definitely a factor," Paucek said.

The process of making each tape takes about six to seven months, Paucek said, most of which goes into script development. The scripts are prepared by professors and graduate students in the subjects as well as by the comedians.

Paucek stressed that the tapes are meant to be used as a supplement to a course. "We don't try and replace the process of going to school ... we're not trying to say `don't go to class,'" Paucek said.

Last year, tapes were available for subjects like economics, calculus, finance, accounting and statistics. This year's new titles will include philosophy, physics, biology and chemistry. The company soon plans to release sequels to its calculus, finance and accounting videos.

The videos can be ordered at Borders Books and Music or Tower Records. Questions concerning the videos can be answered at 1-800-238-9669.