(Image via ubergizmo.com)
You may be asking yourself, what is YouTube? It is a website that was created by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen in 2005. The site allows its users to view and share videos with one another, and upload their own videos. If a user wants to upload their own video they can create an account, and upload that video. The technology that YouTube runs on is Adobe Flash Player, and when creating a personal video or a video blog for the site, a web camera or some other video recording device is also necessary.
Now that we know what YouTube is, how to create an account, and how to upload a video, there is another question that comes to mind. That question is if the use of YouTube is appropriate in the classroom? I would have to say that in most cases yes. It is appropriate because it gives teachers and other educators a chance to bring another avenue learning into the classroom. For example in elementary school if a teacher is covering a specific unit, and they find a related video, or they have the students find a video that is appropriate then I think, yes it can be used. I also think that the same is true for the use of YouTube in college classrooms. In a psychology class that I took we were talking about nonverbal communication, and through the use of a couple of YouTube videos I was able to understand the concept.
In thinking about the impact and use of a site like YouTube, there are a couple of things that need to be taken into consideration. The first is that when you are putting a video up on YouTube, you have to decide whether it is professional, and is it something that you want a future employer to see. The second thing to consider is, if the video that you want your students to look at is appropriate. I also think that if elementary school teachers let their students use this site, then they need to be supervising to be sure they are looking at appropriate videos.
So is YouTube meant for the classroom? I say yes, but use caution.
