Hi everyone,
This great little article, called YouTube Comes to the Classroom by Anna Adam and Helen Mowers, describes some of the pros and cons of uTube and its potential uses in the classroom. It mentions a few examples of historical and scientific videos that might be viewed as part of a lesson. For example, one is a video clip of a WW2 vertan telling his account of the war.
Due to copyright restrictions I cannot provide a link to this article on this blog. Check your e-mail as I will be e-mailing it to you (this is the only way I could find around it). This is legal since you all are SYR students and therefore would normally have access to this article.
Would you as a teacher/librarian consider using uTube in the classroom? Why or why not?
This year I was doing a research project with the Pre-K on bread. The teacher wanted me to find a video of bread being made. I looked on both media databases I had access to: EdVideo online and United Streaming and could find nothing. So, I decided to look on Google video and I actually found some really great clips. I found a wonderful one that featured a small boy and his dad making bread together. I thought this would be so motivating and empowering for the kids to see. Unfortunately, they never got to see it, because I found out that the link was blocked when I went to test it out at school. I thought this was really unfortunate.
We recently discussed the new laws that are being put in place to block social networking sites from our schools. I believe uTube is currently blocked by the Internet filters in our schools. Are we loosing out on educational materials and experiences we could be sharing with our schools? Does their "safety" outweigh the benefits of some of the Web 2.0 tools?
3 comments:
Thea-
I've had a similar experience. When I was teaching 5th grade last year I had located a great clip, from google video, that I had wanted to incorporate into a science lesson.
Like you, I was blocked from the site when I tested it in school. At least we tested ahead of time, right? Still, I cannot figure out the reasoning behind why certain sites are blocked as many that I have stumbled upon are clearly educational.
This is a problem for educators who potentially miss out on opportunites to have access to teaching materials.
Schools do have the option to individually unblock certain sites from their school, but it's a process that I haven't experienced yet. My FW supervisor was contantly blocking and unblocking...so I know that it can be done.
-Kate
Thea-
I would definitely consider using UTube in the classroom if I had the technology to run it correctly. I often find that I have problems getting the sound loud enough for the kids to hear when using the computer. It is disappointing, because the kids truly look forward to anything technological!
**Beatrice**
I wonder if uTube is one of those sites that the DOE simply won't unblock. When I contacted the tech help desk about about Google video, they explained that it was not possible to unblock this site. I will have to first check to see if the site can be accessed from within the school building when I go back in September and then call the DOE to confirm whether we can access it. If I find out anything...I'll post the info on this blog.
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