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Brandon, Vermont - August 22, 2008
"You really only learn something when you have to teach it," says Brian Jerome, of the Visual Learning Company.
Learning is supposed to be a lifelong pursuit-- so Jerome and the staff at Visual Learning-- never stop studying.
"We're kind of bringing the outside world into the classroom to teachers," Jerome explains.
They make short educational movies for elementary and middle schoolers.
The videos focus on science-- a subject Jerome taught for several years in Vermont schools. He wanted to improve on the old filmstrips he'd use in classrooms.
"I saw a need, and kids really like using visuals," he says.
Jerome launched his business in a spare room in his house in 1999, but nearly a decade later has a large office where editors and animators crank out the films. The company founder shoots much of the video himself on location.
"I've been to the Canadian Rockies, the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, so I get to go to some beautiful places," Jerome says.
Visual Learning has 150 titles and that list is growing. The team works to match their products to schools' curricular needs and gets input from college science professors and wildlife experts.
"I actually learn a lot here," video editor Lyndsey Canfield says.
Individual teachers and entire school districts are the Vermonters' customers. The videos ship across the country and to a few foreign educators.
"To see where all these products are going, I say, 'my name's on that!' It's really neat!" Canfield says.
The company even makes its videos available on iPods-- and soon, by web download. New ways for the folks at Visual Learning to keep explaining to kids how the world works with their Made in Vermont teaching tools.
"To be able to do it in a beautiful place like Brandon makes the job even more enjoyable," Jerome says.
Click here to visit their website.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont
