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It is funny that I remember when the only time we could watch videos is when MTV first
came out in 1981. Now, with the invention of YouTube, tons of genres can be seen 24/7.
Some being educational, a majority of them not.
YouTube was created in 2005 by three employees of pay pals. They were at a dinner party and
having issues uploading a video of the party to the web. Following that evening and the
issues of uploading, they went on to develop YouTube, making it easy for anyone and everyone
to upload videos to the web. I currently teach technology to 8th graders.
Students’ love YouTube, especially for the ease of locating and watching videos and finding
music. I have come to discover that if I allow my
students to utilize YouTube during their class time, they spend the majority of the time,
if not all, looking at videos and not getting their work done. So, I only allow my students
to utilize YouTube for specific information pertaining to assignments that I have assigned
to them. A second issue that I have with using YouTube
in the classroom is that it is possible for the videos to be taken out of context and
viewed in a way the creator did not intend. For example, something that was meant to be
funny ends up being offensive or hurtful to others, the person creating the video did
not intentionally mean to hurt anybody, but the viewer misconstrued the context or the
video was not clear in the context. If you plan on using YouTube in the classroom,
it is imperative to screen videos for inappropriate language and material before allowing students
to view it. Also, we have had class discussions in the
past, concerning the videos and the subject(s) and how damaging it can be to a subject when
they are not aware they are being taped and then their life ends up on YouTube. This can
lead to that subjects life being devastated. Another big downfall to YouTube, is that some
of the content of the videos are not school appropriate, which includes *** content,
violence and inappropriate language. However, some good things that I have found
with using YouTube in the class, students really are engaged in looking at short videos.
I recently instructed my students on how to use Inspiration 8 and was able to find a video
that gave them step-by-step directions on how to use the software. This way, students
were able to use the video to help guide them through the process of creating a mind map,
using Inspiration 8. I found this to be extremely helpful and students were able to use the
program to complete the assignment with no problems.
Last year, when I taught this lesson, I demonstrated how to use Inspiration 8 myself and found
that there were some students who still did not understand or listen correctly to what
I was saying. This generation of students has been brought up on television, videos,
computers and electronics. They are the digital generation and seem to learn better by listening
to short videos rather than a lecture from their teachers. Using YouTube gives the students
the ability to stop and start or review the information as often as needed.
I have never had my classes create a video for YouTube, but would like to try. Advantages
of YouTube are that it is easy to use, easy to upload videos, allows students to be creative
and it is an easy way to get to know other people in other countries or regions. It is
also cheap to make a video. No need for expensive equipment or editing software. Most laptops
come with built in webcams and microphones or can purchased cheaply, making it easy to
create short videos.