60second Recap

60second Recap was created by Peter Osterlund, a former journalist who, while working as a Hollywood screenwriter, began exploring media formats suitable for smartphones and other handheld devices. He said he decided to structure his concept around a 60-second video format upon noting that viewer's attention to "small-screen" video tended to lapse after about one minute.{{Cite news|last=Toppo|first=Greg|title=Reluctant students of the classics, lend me your earbuds!|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-07-jenny-sawyer-60-second-recap-classics_N.htm|access-date=2010-11-30|newspaper=USA Today|date=2009-09-07}} Media interest in 60second Recap's subsequent launch focused on two novel aspects of its design.{{Cite news|last=Aucoin|first=Don|title=A novel approach|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/10/31/a_novel_approach_to_getting_kids_into_classics/|access-date=2010-11-30|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=2009-10-31}} First, 60second Recap offered a new variation on an old form by presenting its study aid material in a video-only format based on Osterlund's 60-second concept. Second, all editorial content was researched and written by a single individual, Jenny Sawyer, a book critic for The Christian Science Monitor who also served as 60second Recap's host. Sawyer said this approach was intended to help students see 60second Recap not as a "cheat-sheet authority" but as a "conversation-starter" on a given work.{{Cite news|last=Rooney|first=Emily|title=Great literature in 60 Seconds|url=http://www.wgbh.org/programs/Greater-Boston-11/episodes/Nov-3-2009--Great-literature-in-60-Seconds-10021|access-date=2010-11-30|publisher=WGBH|date=2009-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207143036/http://www.wgbh.org/programs/Greater-Boston-11/episodes/Nov-3-2009--Great-literature-in-60-Seconds-10021|archive-date=2011-12-07|url-status=dead}}

Some online critics took exception to 60second Recap's video-centric approach. They argued that 60second Recap's format trivialized Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir Night by summarizing its plot and themes in a series of twelve 60-second videos.{{Cite web|title=Holocaust Memoir "Night" Finally Made Complete with Animation|url=http://www.heebmagazine.com/holocaust-memoir-night-finally-made-complete-with-animation/|access-date=2010-11-30|publisher=Heeb Magazine}} One journalist contended that 60second Recap-style study videos might encourage students to avoid reading altogether.{{Cite news|last=Strauss|first=Valerie|title=Wiesel's "Night," "Hamlet" in 60 seconds?|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/literature/i-just-got-a-pitch.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008122351/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/literature/i-just-got-a-pitch.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 8, 2012|access-date=2010-11-30|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2010-03-05}}

60second Recap won acceptance in schools, however, and teachers said they found it effective in sparking classroom discussions.{{cite news|last=Carlin|first=Cali|title=Video Cliff Notes|url=http://www.channelone.com/video/60-second-books/#ooid=JrcDRrMTqIxruj8hxwDJ5FOTBk5lwlOI|newspaper=Channel One News|access-date=2010-12-11|date=2010-03-10|archive-date=September 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928094442/http://www.channelone.com/video/60-second-books/#ooid=JrcDRrMTqIxruj8hxwDJ5FOTBk5lwlOI|url-status=dead}} 60second Recap was also cited by special education teachers as a pedagogical tool for students who have learning disabilities that interfere with their ability to comprehend written material.{{Cite web|title=Best Assistive Technology Tools for 2010|url=http://ocali.org/view.php?nav_id=100&up_folder_id_mov_kaltura=7&up_mov_id=10|access-date=2010-12-11|publisher=Ohio Center for Autism|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727140332/http://ocali.org/view.php?nav_id=100&up_folder_id_mov_kaltura=7&up_mov_id=10|archive-date=2011-07-27|url-status=dead}}

In 2011, CliffsNotes announced a joint venture with AOL and reality TV show producer Mark Burnett to introduce its own series of 60-second video study guide surveys of classic literary works.{{Cite web|title=Cliff Notes Goes Digital|url=http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/03/10/pm-cliffsnotes-goes-digital//|access-date=2011-03-10|publisher=American Public Radio|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727192539/http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/03/10/pm-cliffsnotes-goes-digital//|archive-date=2011-07-27|url-status=dead}}

• BookRags
• CliffsNotes
• Coles Notes
• Video study guide
• York Notes

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://www.60secondrecap.com/}}

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Category:American educational websites

Category:Educational publishing companies of the United States