What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube restricted in your building?
What I like the most about YouTube is that I can actually see what is happening around the world without being there to witness it firsthand. Such as the Sound of Music performance in the Antwerp Train Station. I also like that it gives a vehicle and an audience for artists.
There really isn’t anything I personally dislike about YouTube except maybe that I can spend too much time there. With anyone being able to post almost anything, sometimes I see things I would prefer to not see but that’s what the little red x is for.
The problem I see with YouTube is how students are using it. Students from my school recorded a fight in the cafeteria and it was uploaded to YouTube as soon as school ended that day. I have heard of students from another local school district who start fights just to post them to YouTube and have them rated. My understanding is that the more blood, the higher the rating. The latest issue of NEA Today (p. 18) has an article about this concern. “When it comes to schoolyard fights, the big question isn’t how many hits you got: It’s how many hits you’ll get.” “Basically, it’s like you’re abused twice – first when you’re beat up and then again when it’s posted,” says Nancy Willard.
On a more positive side, as a Social Studies teacher I find several videos that are useful to my teaching. The entire MLK I Have a Dream Speech is available as are several clips from the TV series John Adams. It can be a very useful tool when teaching American history.
YouTube is restricted in my district. I doubt that the reason is a bandwidth issue. All social networking sites are blocked due to the nature of some content and the risk to students.
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You're right - it is challenging to help students learn to exploit YouTube for the good, educational videos it provides rather than the negative. Maybe students could share examples of how they might use YouTube educationally to convince districts that it can be a useful tool? What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think that is a great idea! I have visions of a presentation to the school board where students show what a useful educational tool YouTube can be!
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