Tuesday, January 26, 2010
YouTube?? Me Tube Too!
The world is your oyster may be a cliche, but using the web to publish video of ______(place exciting topic in the space) is an easy way to make your creation available to an unlimited audience. I have to be honest and say right off the bat that I have never uploaded video anywhere on the web before but I am certainly aware of how popular it has become, primarily because of YouTube. How popular is YouTube? During my research, I watched a video clip of a presentation given by anthropologist Michael Wesch and he stated that YouTube creates more content in six months than the big three US networks have created in sixty years! That is shocking! As this this particular tool is popular with so many young people (and older people as well), teachers would be amiss to not incorporate it into their classroom in some way.
The Learning Process
Reading, reading, more reading and a little playing; that pretty much sums up my learning process. Will Richardson's text offered a short introduction to video publishing in Chapter 8 but I wanted to gather information from a few more sources to get a decent grasp on the topic.
I logged into my Ning Classroom 2.0 group to have a look around. A great site and a great group if you haven't read enough yet (I know... we've all read plenty) on just about every topic related to Web 2.0. Two sources caught my eye and broadened my knowledge base considerably. The first was an article by Janko Roettgers called "The Decade in Online Video, Part 1: The Early Years" which carries onto "Part 2: Time to Upload". Both parts give a great review of the evolution of video on the web and what amazed me is how far video on the web has come in a fairly short period of time. Look out traditional TV, you are under attack!
The second source I thought was very useful was Dr. Helen Barrett's "How to Create Simple Digital Stories". Her page outlines the entire process from beginning to end for both Mac and PC users. A great resource that I think would work well in schools for those teachers and students just learning about video publishing. I used this page to publish a very short video with this blog.
What I also found was the large number of video sharing sites that are available to post ones video clips. Other than YouTube you can also post video with these sites: Yahoo video, View4View.com, Zudeo.com, vuze.com, lulu.com, digg.com, and Google video. The world really can be your oyster.
Personal Learning
Regarding personal learning, there were two different types for me. The first was actually taking some raw video (.MPG) and using Quick time to create a short clip that I could post on this blog. The topic of my short video is not related to education however I just wanted to acquire content and practice uploading it to the web. I used Barrett's guide as well as tutorials on my laptop to create my amazingly awesome video clip (I'm sure you will agree!) I now feel somewhat knowledgeable with this tool and I feel certain that I can now upload video onto YouTube or TeacherTube if needed.
The second type of personal learning came via YouTube. I have watched videos on YouTube before but I must say that most have been of the funny, ha-ha genre and few have been highly educational. As I haven't really searched through YouTube before, I was excited to find an unlimited supply of useful, educational videos. I enjoy DIY projects around the house and although I am quite handy, sometimes I need some guidance. I hung a few doors recently and I did use some resources on the web, but they were text based with photos. While this information was helpful, I believe YouTube would have been better. I am kicking myself now for not thinking about a video tutorial, considering YouTube has many videos explaining how to "hang a door". Next project I undertake I will definitely check out YouTube!
Teaching and Learning With Video Publishing
Wow, where to start. I mean the possibilities are endless. Just by looking through YouTube and TeacherTube, I realize video publishing is a great way for teachers to add to their basket of skills. Portions or entire parts of a lesson could be uploaded to a blog or a video sharing site for students to access if they need to review or were away from class. It is also a great way for students to demonstrate what they know. Most teens already have a phone or iPod that can shoot video, so instead of threatening them with ??? if they use it during class time, why not make them use to create a video showing what they have learned and then publish it to the web?
My mind has been swirling with possibilities. Regarding PE, there were an number of interesting videos on TeacherTube that I would consider using in class or just review on my own in order to brush up on my knowledge. Topics included "How to Spike a Volleyball" and multiple videos existed describing various ways to use Heart Rate Monitors in class. All useful stuff and it's free! The best part is I can access it from anywhere at anytime as long as I have access to my laptop and the internet.
Off the top of my head, I thought of possibilities within my own classes. As PE is a movement class (primarily) video would be a great way to observe a large group of people at the same time. It would also be an effective way to observe an individuals movement during class as well. From a teaching standpoint, video would make evaluation easier and less subjective.
From a students standpoint, watching video of ones owns performance would be a great way to get some feedback (formative); a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. Students could also be given the task of taking video of their classmates and then provide them with a peer assessment of their performance. Those that prefer not to critique others could perform a self-assessment instead.
Bottom line for me is that video is a great tool to use in the classroom. I have learned something new that I can incorporate into my teaching immediately and that gets me excited. The possibilities are endless.
A short note about my attached video clip. I had to purchase additional software for my Mac in order to view the downloaded .MPG file, however I couldn't get any sound!? Please let me know if you have the same problem or if it works for you. If it doesn't, please open with VLC (an open source media player that is free to download on the web) and that should do the trick.
References
Barrett, Helen (2009). How to Create Simple Digital Stories. Retrieved from http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/howto.html
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press.
Roettgers, Janko (2010). The Decade in Online Video, Part 1: The Early Years. Retrieved from http://newteevee.com/2010/01/01/the-decade-in-online-video-part-1-the-early-years/
Wesch, Michael (2008). An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube. Retrieved from http://trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/232909
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Firstly, I did manage to get sound from your 'mice' video. It left me a litte squeemish. We are currently having a mouse problem in my school.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning Helen Barlett. I have used her site and many of her tutorials while creating digitalbooktalks. I have now created digital booktalks with students as young as 11 and as old as 18. (Check them out at www.rosslandsecondarylibrary.blogspot.com). The grade 6 boys were thrilled to find out they could post them on YouTube to show friends and family.
The other person you mention, M.Wesch, has some fantastic videos on YouTube. I have shown a few to staff at meetings to highlight the many changes that are happening with education, libraries and the net generation.
Your ideas for using video sharing with PE are great. Along with beign a TL, I work at our ski academy and we have newly purchased video analysis equipment and uploading some of the skiers techniques to YouTube would be a great training tool as well. Thanks for a good read.
Nicola
Hi Mel,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nicola--rodents make me squeamish, but your video (and commentary) was neat to see, even if I can't stop squirming in my seat!
Thanks for the links to those readings you found through Classroom 2.0--they look like great resources!
Joanne