515+Case+Study

=YouTube Edu: Education of the future =

We are fortunate enough to live in time of rapidly increasing technology. Our students come to class equipped with Internet access, instant communication, GPS locators, and seemingly infinite music libraries all packaged neatly into a pocket size device. Ten years ago I was a middle school student and the proud owner of the latest communication gadget: a pager! It was ice blue and would alert me with a few beeps whenever someone requested a call. Ten short years later, that beeper is considered a dinosaur. My students have instant access to whomever they need and whatever information they want. Technology is quickly becoming the corner stone in the lives of our students.

Last semester I completed my student teaching at Anacapa Middle School in Ventura. I attended the spring talent in which many of my students performed. As the students each bravely came out on stage, I noticed many cell phones stuck up in the air. Each student wanted his or her own recording of the performances. A few weeks later as I was perusing YouTube, I found a video of one Anacapa student singing at the show. YouTube has quickly become a popular site for students, and anyone else, to up load their own videos. My question is, “where did Youtube come from and how can educators use it to enrich the learning experience?”

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YouTube could not have developed with out the advancement of video. Video was first sold in the form of a video tape recorder (VTR) developed by Charles P. Ginsburg in the early 1950’s. In 1976 JVC and Panasonic introduced the first large cassette form of videotape. The videotape reigned for the next two decades. Recorders progressively became smaller and easier to handle. The DVD was introduced to the United States in 1997, a year after it was introduced in Japan. DVD technology since has continued to improve. Blue-Ray discs, a high definition form of DVDs was first sold in 2004. Today, recording items such as Videotapes and DVDs are no longer necessary. Video can be recorded straight to a memory chip and uploaded on the nearest computer.

In order to use Youtube, video must be uploaded. Over the past 50 years video development has progressed enormously. The result is crisper, better video on the web. Follow the development below:

One way that video can be shared and stored on a computer is through a website called YouTube. Chad Hurley, Steven Chen, and Jawed Karim developed YouTube in February 2005. YouTube became an instant success. With in 18 months over 100 million videos could be viewed. The site contained a wide range of video, including education based video. In March 2009, YouTube organized these educational videos into one easy to navigate site: YouTube Edu.

The following is a time line of the development of YouTube Edu:



Students are posting video on YouTube at rapid speed. As educators, it is important to stay current on technology and incorporate the technology that students are using into the classroom. There are issues that must be addressed when introducing new ideas and techniques into education. Integrating YouTube Edu is no exception.

When ever incorporating video into the classroom teachers faces several ethical issues. Lets first look at ethical issues that surround showing videos that others have created in a classroom setting. In March of 2007, Viacom filed a suit against YouTube and Google, the parent company. The law suit addressed issues of copyright and how issues of ownership pertain to public video sharing sites. As educators, students look to us as examples. Any video that is shown in class must be shown in accordance with educational guidelines. The videos should be shown for educational purposes in limited amounts. That is to say, if The Lion King is posted on YouTube, that doesn’t mean that the teacher can or should show the film to the class.

Videos of students can also be uploaded simply and quickly to YouTube. Teachers must be aware of student privacy regulations before posting video of students on the web. Student safety is the number one priority of schools and should be addressed with caution whenever using un protected web sites.

Many parents view YouTube as strictly a social networking site where casual video is uploaded to share with friends and the community. Video as a learning tool is a recent concept and may take parents and some administrator’s time to accept as valid. Currently, many districts block YouTube from access by both teachers and students. It will take time to convince administration of the value of YouTube in education.

As mentioned above, YouTube Edu developed out of YouTube as a forum to organize YouTube video postings dealing specifically with University and College sponsors. Through this website the public has access to pep rallies, sporting events, and campus life events. However, the most radically aspect of YouTube Edu is the public access to top university lectures.

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Earlier today I listened to part of a lecture on Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics given by a professor from Stanford University. I am not a student at Stanford; however, should I choose, I can listen to the whole 1 hour and fifty one minute lecture as if I were sitting in the classroom. Students and non-students a like can access the website free of charge and listen to series of lectures from the comfort of their own home. This gives students the option to attend class or simply access the lecture later from home or any coffee house with Internet access. They also alloy students to re-access material when studying for exams or reviewing notes. One can literally pause and rewind the professor. This allows students with various learning styles and ability to learn the material at his or her own pace, greatly increasing educational equity.

Currently, this feature deals specifically with the University level. However, I predict that in the near future K-12 schools will also be accessible through YouTube Edu. Teachers could simply record and post their lessons on the web for students and parents to view. The benefits of this would be great. Absent student could remain up to date with lessons by watching them online. When working on homework, students and parents could review the day's lesson to help them better understand the material presented. Eventually, students could attend all their classes online away from the school. Youtube Edu is a one stop shop for students to listen to a lesson and receive tutorial lessons the content material.

Student engagement is a constant battle for teachers. YouTube has already proven to be a sensation among adults and children alike. Students will enjoy integrating a site they use for fun into their education. YouTube Edu will bring the material to the students and make the material accessable and relavant to their lives.

Teachers must use common sense when dealing with video and the web. However, YouTube Edu is a powerful tool that educators can take advantage of to create greater educational equity and increase student access to the content material.

To learn more about YouTube check out the following link:

[|YouTube Biz Blog]