YouTube is a video sharing website in which users can share, upload, and view videos. Since the creation of YouTube in 2005, YouTube has had increasing success and has forever changed American culture. One reason YouTube has had great success is because there is a wide range of educational videos available on YouTube, allowing these videos to be used in classrooms. I never even thought of using YouTube in the classroom until I experienced my first college class here at UNI. It all took place in Humanities I when Mrs. Wells wanted to show us a YouTube video on Oedipus the King. When I first heard the word "YouTube" come out of her mouth, I instantly began to think of funny, unprofessional videos. Little did I know that this YouTube video was completely educational. This was when I realized that there were probably more educational videos on YouTube, and my other college classes proved that was the truth. As a teacher, you may want to spice things up a bit in the classroom. Lectures can get boring and students tend to lose interest quickly. Teachers can show a YouTube video related to a specific educational topic. Students are more likely to remember things if they get taught them in a "fun" way. Also, some textbooks tend to be filled with outdated information. Teachers can use YouTube videos to show more up-to-date information. Another thing that is really nice about YouTube is that it's very accessible. Users can get on YouTube as long as they have an internet connection, making the information available and easy to access! A problem educators tend to encounter with YouTube is that while there are educational videos on YouTube, there are also inappropriate videos available on YouTube. If a YouTube video is seen as consisting inappropriate information, it becomes private and only users that are at least 18 years of age may view the video. However, there are even better alternatives. These alternatives include Teacher Tube or School Tube which consist of only educational information. If for some reason you are not as comfortable with these two sites, you can stick to YouTube and just select the "Education" category. As you can see YouTube is a great way to teach students an important piece of information, but in a much more fun way. Students will remember the video from class and may even return to the site to watch it again on their own time. If you as an educator are not comfortable using YouTube you can always use Teacher Tube or School Tube. Regardless of the site you choose, always preview the video first before showing your students!
100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers- Click this link to see the top 100 YouTube videos for teachers. This website consists of YouTube videos for all subjects!
47 Alternatives to Using YouTube in the Classroom- If you are one of those educators that does not feel comfortable using YouTube in the classroom, click this link to learn more alternatives to using YouTube.
Image retrieved from:
www.flickr.com by Rick McCharles
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