Wednesday, 3 August 2011

YOUTUBE

Youtube. It's convenient, entertaining, often informative, but is it beneficial for students in a classroom situation? The following page from teacherlingo.com thinks so (http://teacherlingo.com/blogs/sharingtechnology/archive/2008/02/23/using-youtube-in-the-classroom.aspx).

According to them, today's students are the first networked generation. They are hyper-communicators and must "power down" just to go to school. One way that they can be reached is through YouTube. The world is changing and our own standards must change in order to move forward. Students are writing short blurbs and video-taping their lives. Are lengthy documents even necessary anymore? Today's student has grown up in a very visual environment and loves it.

The following are a number of suggestions offered on various websites for how youtube can be used in the classroom.

Project Ideas:
Require YouTube to be incorporated into student PowerPoints (this can be embedded)--- (objectives met, see below):
  • They will pick up knowledge while surfing
  • Will help them to learn how to refine search techniques
  • Research in moving/living color
Have students create their own YouTube video
  • Can be uploaded to private side or distributed to general public
  • Will allow students to receive feedback from others, not just their instructor
  • Have them view the video named "Video Tutorial 1 part 1 (windows movie maker)" on YouTube
Have students to create a blog and embed a YouTube video into the blog.
  • They will improve their writing skills while having fun with video and/or audio creations.

As I have said on previous blog posts, I find many of these activities and ICT's quite trivial, however youtube is one in which I see some merit. While not replacing traditional learning methods, youtube can enhance certain aspects. Skills such as being able to embed a youtube clip in to a powerpoint presentation could possibly help capture your audiences attention and assert your underlying message. Presenting your own ideas in different ways is also a beneficial undertaking in my opinion.

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