Youtube

• What is YouTube?
• How do I use it?
• Why should I use it?
• What are other, similar resources

What is YouTube?
• A social networking site using videos
• One of the fastest growing sites on the Internet
• A place for learning, entertainment, and chaos


YouTube is organized into video categories, channels, and communities and groups.
Features: Advanced Search, Built-In Help, Quick Capture allows the user to use a webcam and
microphone connected to the computer to make movies on the fly.


• Use software to download movies such as:
TubeTV
YouTube Downloader
Apowersoft YouTube Downloader Ultimate
Jing

• Browser options
Video Download Helper for Firefox
Safari (Open in the activity monitor in Safari (3.1.2). Find the large video file in the list (can tell by the size of the file.) Double-click to download it. Rename with the .flv
extension.)

• Web-based services:
KeepVid
Zamzar
Tech Crunch


Additional Resources
YouTube Help
http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/static.py?page=start.cs

YouTube Handbook
http://www.youtube.com/t/yt_handbook_home

Advance techniques with YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/Therapix

Embedding YouTube videos on other sites:
https://www.msu.edu/~huntley9/wa/tutorial/index.htm


Other Resources
• Google Video
• Yahoo Video
• MSN Video
• AOL Video
• Teacher’s Domain
• United Streaming
• Teacher Tube----this may be useful for those of us who cannot access YouTube at school.


What is TeacherTube?
• A social networking site using video for and by educators
• More focused than YouTube, but smaller in scope
• A place for learning, if you can find what you’re looking for....

Uses in the Classroom
• Illustrating new or hard to understand concepts
• Researching new topics
• Resources for the “teachable moment”
• Resources for other media (GoogleMaps & GoogleEarth, blogs, wikis, Moodle, etc.)


Pros
• Free resources to illustrate concepts in the classroom
• A way to share student-created content with the world
• Portal for multimedia content for other projects

Cons
• Questionable content
• High on bandwidth
• An easy venue for wasting time

Should YouTube be used in the classroom? I say yes, even though many schools (even mine) block YouTube. Though YouTube is blocked in many classrooms because of inappropriate materials on the site, there are many valuable (and downloadable) videos that do further learning. The site lists an ever-growing collection of excellent educational content, everything from President Obama's weekly addresses to algebraic demonstrations. I've read a few scholarly journal articles on YouTube and Education. Here is what I found out.
In Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with YouTube, Digital Stories, and Blogs - Mullen & Wedwick (2008) wisely recommend that when using digital storytelling, it is important for students to focus on the story first and the digital medium second, otherwise the stories can be weak and overpowered by the technology” (p.68) A similar message is delivered by Jason Ohler inthe March 2009 issue of Educational Leadership in Orchestrating the Media Collage: “Focus on expression first and technology second and everything will fall into place”. He also recommends teachers “be the guide on the side rather than the technician magician” (p. 13).

What do you think of YouTube? Does your school allow YouTube? Would you consider using YouTube or even TeacherTube if it were available?

Mullen, R., & Wedwick, L. (2008). Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with YouTube, Digital Stories, and Blogs. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. 82 (2), 66-69.

Ohler, J. (2009). Orchestrating the Media Collage. Educational Leadership. 66 (6), 8-13.