Blog #2 - Videosharing

According to a recent eBizMBA article (http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/video-websites) YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/) is the largest and most popular videosharing site, so I decided to spend a little one-on-one time with it. You may be asking yourself why an educator would choose to blog about YouTube as opposed to TeacherTube (http://www.teachertube.com/), but really the answer is quite simple. I surveyed my grade 6 class. None of my students had even heard of TeacherTube and one of my focus questions for this course is to create stronger connections with my students through the use of web 2.0 technologies. Thus YouTube was selected! While I’m thinking about my students, let me take a minute to share the results of my class survey with you (the results were somewhat surprising). Out of 20 grade 6 students, only 1 student had never watched a YouTube video before and although the rest watch YouTube videos on a weekly bases only 7 had YouTube channels (YouTube’s version of an account). When asked what type of videos they watched, music videos followed by movies and TV shows/cartoons were the most popular. To a lesser extent they also watched videos that contained video game tips; jokes or stunts; sports; reviews; how to speak a language; and how to make something. 3 out of the 20 had made videos that they posted on YouTube with content such as “how to play Guitar Hero” and videos where they simply sit and talk to the camera without much to say (as stated by one of the student producers). It is also interesting to note that, out of this group of 20 students, 15 have their own e-mail accounts and 12 are Facebook users. To this end, my previous blog was about photosharing and none of the students were aware of Flickr, nor have any of them ever uploaded pictures to the internet. I found this a point of interest considering they were more than excited to share their YouTube experiences with me and simply sat idle (which is abnormal in my classroom) when I asked about photosharing. YouTube is an obvious hit amongst my students and the mere mention of the site created an explosion of hands in the air, animated faces and a significant noise increase. I have spent some time looking for my students’ videos, but have been unsuccessful at locating them. Although certainly humored, the 3 producers did seem a bit uncomfortable at the thought of their teacher watching their videos and now I’m wondering if they didn’t race home and either delete them or change their settings to the private function. Regardless, this blog post will provide you with my reflections on learning how to use YouTube and how this technology will impact me personally and professionally.

Reflections on learning to use YouTube

Prior to signing up for my own YouTube channel, I had watched the odd video sent to me via e-mail and had also used YouTube to learn more about laparoscopic surgery before I went for mine (highly recommended if you have a strong stomach). YouTube was easy to sign-up to (check my channel out http://www.youtube.com/canadanz16), but once I had done so I was given little direction as to what I should do next. Thus I felt like I was aimlessly playing around with anything that I could click. Eventually I discovered that I could set-up my profile and choose the functions for my homepage. I’m being selective about my word choice here, I use the word choose rather than create in reference to my home page, as I wasn’t really able to personalize my home page in any significant way by clicking the predetermined features on or off. I easily uploaded two home videos and was able to identify the level of privacy, title, description and tags for each video. On one of the videos I spent a considerable amount of time playing with the annotation feature (thank goodness the video is only 21seconds long) and eventually added a note that displays itself toward the beginning of the clip and a spotlight that highlights and identifies the main characters. Even after referencing the help section, this was a challenge and I now have much more respect for YouTubers who are editing their own productions.

On the other hand YouTube makes it easy to share your videos and to subscribe to other peoples channels. It is also easy to search for videos (in categories if needed) and to then mark them as favorites, to share them with others, to add them to your personal playlist files and/or comment on them. Videos can also be flagged if you perceive the content to be inappropriate. While searching for funny videos I quickly came across the popular YourDailyLaughz channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/YourDailyLaughz) and was shocked at the distastefulness of many of the videos, some of which I would even label as offensive. YouTube is somewhat regulated by its users (it relies on the users to flag inappropriate videos and then YouTube checks them out http://www.youtube.com/t/terms) and provides the following statement before every video is uploaded:

Important: Do not upload any TV shows, music videos, music concerts, or commercials without permission unless they consist entirely of content you created yourself.
The Copyright Tips page and the Community Guidelines can help you determine whether your video infringes someone else's copyright.
By clicking "Upload Video", you are representing that this video does not violate YouTube's Terms of Use and that you own all copyrights in this video or have authorization to upload it.

Despite the fact that this strong reminder is present, based on the videos that I saw in an afternoon, there are many copyright infringements and in some cases the violations are so blatant, I’m not so sure where the legalities of this would begin and end.

Regardless, my favorite feature of YouTube is that it has a memory. By that I mean that it remembers the videos that you’ve previously watched and recommends similar videos that you may also be interested in. Furthermore, I also appreciate the fact that I can effortlessly find out what’s moving and shaking by checking out the categories displaying the most popular, most viewed, most discussed, most responded to, rising videos, recent videos, as seen on, top rated and spotlighted videos – which may be a window into what’s being talked about in society (presentation by Michael Wesch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU). Lastly, it is helpful that YouTube also converts files so it doesn’t matter what type of file it is before it is uploaded.

YouTube – For my own Personal Learning

Whether one is looking for fame or to be embarrassed, I’m certain that both could simultaneously be the result of a YouTube video. In terms of entertainment I absolutely love YouTube; some of these videos (like the wedding one that I’ve included) really put a smile on my face and put a little pizzazz into my day. I also enjoy the more informative videos that demonstrate how something is done (like laparoscopic surgery) and those videos that simply display what some of society is doing. This is the very nature of YouTube. In Michael Wesch’s presentation he speaks about how YouTube has changed the way people reflect and represent themselves in society and the global impact this has made (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU). After a 10 minute discussion with my class about YouTube, I can see first hand what Michael is referring to, as the kids were both excited and in 3 cases apprehensive to reveal their videos to me. YouTube is a medium that I foresee myself using significantly more in the future, but I question as to whether or not I’ll take the more drastic step of creating my own vlog. For the last few days, I’ve heavily debated with myself as to what I would upload on YouTube so that I could effectively use this tool and if I should produce a video to specifically post on this blog. In the end, time, or should I say the lack-there-of, prevented me from producing a video and after much contemplation I decided to play it safe and upload two videos to my channel that don’t reveal my family and friends. Why? Privacy. Although I often use my digital camera to take videos (I’m the producer and am rarely ever in them), I’m doing so with an audience in mind and that audience includes my family and friends – not the rest of the world. I would hate for someone close to me to fee embarrassed about a video that I posted of them and for it to potentially do some real damage, such as prevent them from securing their ideal job or destroying a relationship. Once something is posted on the internet it has the potential of doing a lot of damage and realistically you can’t do much about it. On a recent Spark CBC radio show (http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2009/09/full-interview-bill-wasik-and-hal-niedzviecki-on-why-we-post-regrettable-videos-online/) that I heard, it was said that you’re only hope of getting rid of negative information/videos on the internet about you is to counteract it by doing a ton of amazing things so that it’s far enough down the page when someone searches for your name that they don’t see it. Having stated this, I know I could upload my videos on YouTube and set the privacy setting to private, so that I can select who can view them. I may do this so that my family and friends have easier access to my videos. However, this won’t happen until I have a few minutes, or should I say hours, as once I’m on YouTube I find it a bit addicting!

YouTube – for my Professional Learning

Like Fickr, the possibilities of using YouTube in the teaching profession are only limited by your imagination and possibly your skills (presumably you have the technology). Obviously the students can produce their own videos to demonstrate their learning and can also watch them to learn. But the real value in this Simply put, is that 21st century learners can engage in meaningful cross-curricular projects that have an audience and incorporate web 2.0 technologies (http://teacherlingo.com/blogs/sharingtechnology/archive/2008/02/23/using-youtube-in-the-classroom.aspx). This allows for differentiated instruction, accommodates individual learning styles and supports inclusive education. For the past two years I have frequently visited United Streaming to show relevant videos to my students and have highly valued this opportunity as it often allows for a clearer understanding of a topic, particularly with my students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). However, I’ve recently figured out how to use my password to unblock YouTube and, via my SMART Board (http://smarttech.com/), I plan on incorporating this site into my lesson plans. Although the United Streaming videos are professionally produced, the unrefined YouTube videos display a part of human nature and society that creates excellent platforms for class or small group discussion and of course the ability to network with others through comments and feedback is invaluable (Brenda's Blog http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck016.shtml).

A couple of years ago, I signed our school up to produce a School Zone segment (http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071203/school_zone_promo/20080122/?hub=EdmontonHome), which is a 2 minute opportunity to shine the spotlight on a school during the local news, and was shocked to discover the extensive amount of work that had to occur before the segment was even recorded. There were scripts, rehearsals, location decisions, and then there were multiple takes for each scene. In short, it was a lot of work for 2 minutes of airtime and I wasn’t even the one doing the editing! The students were passionate about this project, loved to watch the end result over and over and were proud to share it with others. In another elementary school that I taught in, the students in one of the grade 6 classes were the producers of the school’s weekly news program that aired on Fridays. The students were responsible for writing the scripts, setting up the props and delivering the school news to the rest of the school. To add to the complexity of the production some the news items were previously recorded while others were live (similar to a real news stations where the anchors are live and introduce prerecorded items). Every year, there were a number of students who wanted to join this class. These are just a few first hand examples of the excitement that this rich learning opportunity of producing a video creates.

My goal is to have my students produce a video during the second term and share it (at least with the rest of the school). Before I proceed with using YouTube in the classroom I have much to think about and possibly even district experts to consult with. Firstly, I need to understand our district’s guidelines regarding YouTube and secondly I need a clearer understanding of the privacy settings in regards to FOIP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act - http://foip.alberta.ca/ ). Unfortunately, over half of the students in my classroom have tight parental restrictions placed on them concerning FOIP (bizarre considering they freely use YouTube at home), which can make sharing a taped production a bit tricky.

Here are some of the pros and cons of using YouTube in the classroom:

Pros
Real audience
Connect with others from around the world
Cross-curricular
Provides opportunity for students to play with their voice.
Engages students in meaningful activities
Allows for differentiated instruction
Creates excitement
Deepens understanding of a topic
Provides how to (great for ELLs)
Automatically converts file format
Creates a venue for students to critically examine society.
Medium for students to reflect and create/discover their personal identity
Supports inclusive education
Can select privacy setting

Cons
Privacy issues
Inappropriate content easily accessible
Negative outcomes (e.g. embarrassment)
Doesn’t provide clear directions on how to use YouTube
Personalization of channel is limited

For me, the pros significantly outweigh the cons; however, I understand that I still need to conform to district guidelines in the classroom and may simply have to set the privacy setting to private. Another way around this dilemma is to use the YouTube Edu section (www.youtube.com/edu), which includes videos and channels meant for educational purposes, or to upload it in another format (http://practicaltheory.org/serendipity/index.php?/archives/774-Getting-YouTube-in-the-Classroom.html). In today’s society, children are most likely going to access YouTube on their own and it is necessary for both schools and parents to educate them on making informed choices, and subsequently actions, when inappropriate content appears. YouTube is an excellent web 2.0 technology that allows learners to share their voice beyond the walls of the classroom (Davis & Merchant, 2009 http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?vID=310263&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=2&vUUR=1).

For more information and ideas using YouTube in the classroom, visit the following links:

EduTopia – Online Interactivity for Educators: A Teacher’s Tour of YouTube http://www.edutopia.org/teachers-tour-you-tube

Sharing Technology – Using YouTube in the Classroom http://teacherlingo.com/blogs/sharingtechnology/archive/2008/02/23/using-youtube-in-the-classroom.aspx

EduTopia – How to use YouTube in the Classroom http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-youtube-teaching-video