YouTube
YouTube is not only a repository for video clips, it can also be used to create your own webpage, in the form of a YouTube channel.
Videos are a great way to supplement your course content or provide resources for those who want to know more. With YouTube, you can create your own YouTube channel for your course where you list all of the videos you’d like them to watch, as well as create and upload your own original video content.
Use it to present content.
Use a ‘flipped classroom’ approach and have students watch a mini lecture before class so you can begin the class session with questions, discussions, or activities based on the video.
Use it to promote student interaction and debate.
Post videos that voice opposing viewpoints about your topic and have students comment on the video, as well as other students’ comments by using the blogging features within YouTube
Use it to promote student exploration and critical thinking.
Have students build your supplementary video database by assigning them the task of coming up with one or two great video examples and defending their choices.
Pros
It’s a great content source. YouTube has many academically relevant video segments created by scholars across the world, so you may not even have to record your own videos.
It’s familiar and easy-to-use. Students already know how to use YouTube so you won’t have to do much troubleshooting. In addition, it’s very user-friendly.
It’s free.
It plays well with others. You can embed YouTube videos so that they play within a WordPress blog or Webpage, allowing students to view the video alongside other course content.
Vanderbilt has a YouTube channel.
Cons
It requires a relatively fast internet connection. For videos to play smoothly online, a good solid Internet connection is needed. Sometimes long segments can freeze or play irregularly, causing students to become frustrated and potentially abandon watching the entire clip. Therefore, try to keep the clips under 10 minutes in length. (It’s good advice to keep online videos short in general.)
Searching for good existing content can be a time sink. Finding good video clips can time consuming. Searching for and evaluating clips to find well-produced or on-topic clips will take some time upfront.
URLs can break. People remove things they have uploaded or links become outdated so you’ll want to check them for ‘link rot’ before class.
One solution for YouTube videos is http://keepvid.com/ which allows you to download YouTube videos directly to your computer so no Internet connection is required to play them. However, if students will be accessing the videos, a link will need to be provided. And if you don’t have permission to distribute the video, you can’t legally repost it onYouTube without having permission from the owner.
This webpage explains how to create your own YouTube channel.
YouTube to the Rescue, an article from Inside Higher Ed by Rob Wier, gives practical advice and tips for using and selecting online video clips. He also gives advice on how to incorporate them into class discussions.
Multimedia Teaching with Video Clips: TV, Movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the College
Classroom by Ronald Berk from Johns Hopkins describes eight steps for using a video clip in teaching.
Professor Computer Science Doug Schmidt uses a YouTube channel for his Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture course.
Platforms
- Animoto
- Audacity
- Flickr
- iMovie
- Lectora
- PowerPoint
- Prezi
- Screencasting: Screencast-o-matic
- Screencasting: Debut
- Video Conferencing: Google hangouts
- Video Conferencing: Skype
- YouTube