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What is YouTube?

YouTube is a website (www.youtube.com) that is designed for sharing and watching videos.  Users can upload personal videos from their home computers and share them with friends.  Many video formats can be used, such as Adobe Flash Video and HTML 5.  Many of the videos uploaded to YouTube are registered individuals; however, larger media companies use it as well (CBS, BBC, Hulu).  Only registered users can upload videos, but any individual can access YouTube and view the videos already posted. 

Making an account

To make an account with YouTube, one must use a private e-mail account, create a username and a password, enter som

e personal information (i.e. birthday, name, gender), and where they are located.  Once entering the website the sign in button is located on the top right of the screen, and after selecting the button a prompt will appear for the user to enter their information.  If you are a new user and you wish create an account, an option to generate an account is found along the top right of the page.  After selecting the “create an account” option, the user must enter the aforementioned information.  Once completed, you are ready to go. 

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How it works

YouTube is a common occurrence in today’s classroom. The ins and outs of “how” to use YouTube are self-explanatory to most so I want to relay a few effective strategies on how to use the website in the English classroom. The three strategies are using the videos on YouTube to compliment the content of a class, using teacher tube to download lectures online (aka “flip” the classroom), and then have students create their own videos.

• Using videos in the classroom:

I do not have particular strategies in how or when to show YouTube videos in the English classroom, but I do want to relay some awesome resources within YouTube that can be helpful when teaching. So instead of typing in “American literature” into the search bar of the home page of YouTube, you can go to www.YouTube.com/education. This resource categorizes content areas and provides videos created by teachers and educators specifically for English.  

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9db9FyDkppk)

• Flipped Classrooms:

Along with educational YouTube there is a site called “TeacherTube”. On this site a teacher can create a free account and download lectures for their students to view outside of the classroom. This creates a ‘flipped’ classroom environment where students attain basic instruction outside of class, and then engage in a problem or activity that forces them to use and apply what they learned from the online videos and readings. For example you could post a lecture on the historical background of To Kill a Mockingbird and then have you students spend a class period analyzing how Southern culture effects Scouts attitude towards Tom Robinson. TeacherTube also has lesson plans made and shared by other teachers on how to they used TeacherTube in their classrooms. This is a resource that takes maturity on the part of students, and adaptability on the part of the teacher.

• Students Create Videos:

Having students create anything is a benefit in the classroom, but to have students create something with a program that they are familiar and engage with is absolutly beneficial. Many students don’t have access to a computer so I have referenced a site called “PodBean Podcast Hosting”. This website creates videos with a computer, which forgoes the necessity of a video camera. It does require students to create a free account, and students would have to upload the video to their account on YouTube. This process of creating videos is an art form of its own, which calls for the teacher to model how they want students to create videos. However the process of creating a video is worth the effort after viewing the creative work of your students.   

• Supplemental Materials: 
  

You can use videos to support in class lectures and assignments.  These videos can offer review information for any information covered in the classroom. Also, videos can offer support for subjects that students might not have understood fully in the classroom, giving them the opportunity to pursue tough topics or general information that they need extra support with at home.  These videos can be made by the instructor to supplement their own lessons - providing a solid connection between the videos at home and the lessons in the classroom.

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Resources:

These websites provide some examples of how teachers have used videos to supplement learning outside of the classroom.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LearningResourcesInc

http://mediaburn.org/education/

http://www.youtube.com/user/TeacherResources

http://www.teachingchannel.org/

Great resource for how to incorporate videos into you lessons!

http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/how-to-use-video-in-the-classroom/

References:

Smaldino, Sharon E., Deborah L. Lowther, and James D. Russell. Pearson Custom Education: Technology in Education University of Northern Colorado. Boston: A Pearson Education Company, 2013. Print.

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