YouTube as an Educational Tool
YouTube is a video sharing website created in 2005. The original idea behind its creation was to make a website where people could share vacation footage, and other “home movies” with one another, through an easy uploading format. Prior to the launch of YouTube, various types of methods were used for video uploading, but they differed in complexity and tended to be less wide spread in acceptance. By providing easier access to video sharing, YouTube became extremely popular, which in turn caused their method of video posting to be one of the most widely used formats.
As YouTube numbers are constantly growing exponentially, providing up-to-date statistics is not the easiest task. Well over a billion videos are watched each day, by YouTube users all over the globe. Although not originally intended specifically as any sort of educational tool, just by the staggering amount of growth, eventually an abundance of material became available on the side that could be considered to be of potential educational use. A recent study of 1,000 professors found a favorable view of social media for teaching purposes to exist, by a four to one ratio (Parry, 2010). That same study also shows that the favorable view of such formats and technology remains fairly high even among older faculty. That is an interesting note, considering prior studies seemed to note more of a generational gap (Powers, 2007). As this is a comparatively recent (in terms of usage in the educational system) tool, it is interesting to notice that the generational acceptance gap seems to be decreasing at a pacing greater than natural occurrence.
Much information to be found on the subject, as far as currently existing studies and research goes, focuses on the benefits of classroom usage by focusing on videos available. Much has been written about the sharing of classroom experiences through video posting, or using the medium as an means to access otherwise unavailable primary sources (Cardine, 2008). As more videos are continuously uploaded, and the library of available videos expands, this could likely become a very important databank, ripe to mine for usage geared toward every variety of content area.
The downside of that is, that the expansion of YouTube will have to go far beyond its earliest waves of users, to tap into potential sources that those within that first group would not likely have access to. For example, as a history teacher, I could use YouTube in my classroom to search out information about primary sources, and perhaps the people that have them, discussing them (for example). The problem with that is, those with ownership of letters written by Alexander Hamilton, to George Washington, after he left office and returned home, are not the most likely early boosters of the newest social media. It would typically have to expand far beyond its initial stages, before you would even begin to reach those types of potential users, who could greatly benefit educators. While YouTube has certainly accomplished that feat of growth, it stands to reason that beneficial usage of the site will continuously grow alongside the expansion of the cultural shockwave caused by YouTube. So, in 4 more years, it is not without reason that things will be available for viewing that would have previously only been observable from within the confines of a museum.
A potential pitfall in the expansionist nature of the site is the violation of copyright. Because of the new nature of some of the things being done through the site, new adaptations to copyright law are also developing to keep pace (Hilderbrand, 2008). While much of the material that could be of interest to educators is likely to have entered the realm of public domain, that will not be the case with everything. As a result of that, educators should keep this in mind. At the moment, teachers and classroom usage to not seem to be the predominant target of copyright crackdowns, but as shown by the exponential growth rate of YouTube, things can change very fast when dealing in that realm.
Overall, I feel that YouTube is one of the best potential classroom allies a newer teacher can possess; however, they should take care not to turn it into an enemy, through improper usage which only winds up undercutting the benefits. I know within history and government classes, I have used brief clips from speeches, and summarizing videos, to great effect. There is also the subliminal positive reinforcement that students associate with the site, since they typically can find things decidedly less educational on the site, to amuse themselves with for hours on end. As long as the videos do not become a crutch for the teacher, the benefits outweigh the negatives. They just have to enhance the lesson, instead of attempt to serve in place of one.
Bibliography
1. Cardine, Sarah. (2008, July 21). Is Education Ready for YouTube? Converge Magazine: Technology in Education. Retrieved November 27th, 2010, from http://www.convergemag.com/edtech/Is-Education-Ready-For-YouTube.html
2. Parry, Marc. (2010, May 4). Most Professors Use Social Media. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/most-professors-use-social-media/23716
3. Hilderbrand, Lucas. (2007, Fall). YouTube: Where Cultural memory and copyright converge . Caliber: Journals of the University of California Press, retrieved November 27, 2010, from http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/fq.2007.61.1.48
4. Powers, Elia. (2007, September 6) YouTube Studies. Inside Higher Ed, retrieved December 4, 2010, from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/09/06/youtube
