Y is for YouTube
How can YouTube be used for educational purposes?
I will start with the obvious - YouTube can be used by the teacher to show videos that fit with their classroom lessons on a wide range of topics and in all content areas. It is important to expose students to different methods of obtaining information, and YouTube is one method. It can be useful for How-To videos, informational videos, examples of successful individuals, newscasts, music videos, athletes, science experiments, and the list goes on and on and on. All you have to do is search for a particular topic and pre watch the videos to ensure they are worth your time with the class.
YouTube can also be used for student research for projects and papers. Some students prefer to listen to information rather than read it. This can be important for students who struggle with reading, but also for students who are auditory learners. The teacher does, however, need to show students how to properly site YouTube as a source, and how to determine what is a useful video. Students can find lots of useful information on YouTube, but they can also waste a lot of time searching for videos that are not credible or on the subject matter at hand.
Now, here is where YouTube is starting to be used as an assessment tool. Students can create videos as performance assessments or projects that they upload to YouTube. The teacher can watch the video and grade students based on a rubric that has been created before the student begins the project, or has been negotiated between the teacher and students during the process. The reason you would post the video instead of just saving a copy is so that students learn the importance of sharing their work with the online community. You never know how your work might inspire or direct someone else's decision making.
Wait, so the video would be public on the internet?!?! What about privacy?
Because the video is on YouTube, it can also be viewed by other students, teachers, or anyone else interested for a variety of purposes. This might raise red flags with parents, students, teachers, and anyone else who is concerned about personal privacy and safety on the internet. Generally, school divisions will have policies regarding what can and cannot be posted by students online. At the beginning of the year in my school, a consent letter goes home for parents to sign so that the school division can release photographs of the student. You will need to look into your division's policies before allowing students to post videos. I had help from our technology coach, and our students have school email accounts, so they already have YouTube accounts that can be monitored by teachers. Just to be safe, I don't allow the kids to say their last name or where they are from in the videos. Using YouTube as a sounding board for your students may not be something you are comfortable with as a teacher, but if you are willing to work through the challenges, it can be very motivating for students. An open line of communication with parents is always helpful in these types of situations. If someone genuinely does not want to post a video to YouTube, that could be worked out with the student/parents. A student should never be punished for not wanting to post something online. An alternative might be to simply show the class the video or create another assignment completely, like making a news article or pamphlet.
I will start with the obvious - YouTube can be used by the teacher to show videos that fit with their classroom lessons on a wide range of topics and in all content areas. It is important to expose students to different methods of obtaining information, and YouTube is one method. It can be useful for How-To videos, informational videos, examples of successful individuals, newscasts, music videos, athletes, science experiments, and the list goes on and on and on. All you have to do is search for a particular topic and pre watch the videos to ensure they are worth your time with the class.
YouTube can also be used for student research for projects and papers. Some students prefer to listen to information rather than read it. This can be important for students who struggle with reading, but also for students who are auditory learners. The teacher does, however, need to show students how to properly site YouTube as a source, and how to determine what is a useful video. Students can find lots of useful information on YouTube, but they can also waste a lot of time searching for videos that are not credible or on the subject matter at hand.
Now, here is where YouTube is starting to be used as an assessment tool. Students can create videos as performance assessments or projects that they upload to YouTube. The teacher can watch the video and grade students based on a rubric that has been created before the student begins the project, or has been negotiated between the teacher and students during the process. The reason you would post the video instead of just saving a copy is so that students learn the importance of sharing their work with the online community. You never know how your work might inspire or direct someone else's decision making.
Wait, so the video would be public on the internet?!?! What about privacy?
Because the video is on YouTube, it can also be viewed by other students, teachers, or anyone else interested for a variety of purposes. This might raise red flags with parents, students, teachers, and anyone else who is concerned about personal privacy and safety on the internet. Generally, school divisions will have policies regarding what can and cannot be posted by students online. At the beginning of the year in my school, a consent letter goes home for parents to sign so that the school division can release photographs of the student. You will need to look into your division's policies before allowing students to post videos. I had help from our technology coach, and our students have school email accounts, so they already have YouTube accounts that can be monitored by teachers. Just to be safe, I don't allow the kids to say their last name or where they are from in the videos. Using YouTube as a sounding board for your students may not be something you are comfortable with as a teacher, but if you are willing to work through the challenges, it can be very motivating for students. An open line of communication with parents is always helpful in these types of situations. If someone genuinely does not want to post a video to YouTube, that could be worked out with the student/parents. A student should never be punished for not wanting to post something online. An alternative might be to simply show the class the video or create another assignment completely, like making a news article or pamphlet.