Thing 20: YouTube

First, I would like to say how much I LOVE Taylor Mali's video about what teachers make.  If you haven't seen it yet and are a teacher, studying to be a teacher, or thinking about studying to be a teacher, than it is a must see.

I explored YouTube and TeacherTube as part of this Thing.  I have used YouTube before, mostly to look at videos that friends have recommended.  I really like YouTube (and similar sites), and I think that it is a great tool for teaching.

I'll use my own brothers as an example.  Both Andrew (age 11) and Matthew (age 13) love YouTube videos, particularly parody music videos.  After watching one of those videos two or three times, they can sing each song and get all the lyrics (but maybe not all the notes) right.  They learn the songs quickly because of the fun format they are presented in, and, believe me, the songs stick in their memories.  My brothers are also voracious readers, but they have never remember complete passages from books, even ones that they really love.  But they remember the songs because of the format with which they are presented.

Using movies in the classroom is a great way to engage students with what they are learning.  However, you have to be careful about how you use videos in the classroom.  There are some precautions that I discussed with my aunt who is a French teacher.  The biggest thing that she had to say about movies was to be cautious about the length.  Movies that are too long give students an opportunity to sleep, text, and talk.  Movies that are too short don't get enough information across.  It is important to have a balance when picking which videos to use.

I tried to find a video I liked on YouTube to put on my blog, but I ended up finally finding one that I liked on TeacherTube.  The video is about people who appeared ordinary but went on to do something great.

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things by MissB924