Ed Tech Talk

Educational Video Resources From YouTube?

I provide educational technology training to educators — not just how the technology works, but also how it applies in the classroom. For these presentations, I like to use quality video resources that are available online. One such resource, believe it or not, is YouTube.

YouTube is a collection of video materials that people post on the Internet through an easy-to-use interface. You can find all sorts of video materials there and, unfortunately, the inappropriate materials are always what makes the headlines.

I've found, however, that if you’re careful, you can find a wealth of materials for no cost. For instance, I facilitate a professional development class for teachers on using handheld global positioning system (GPS) devices in the classroom. Through YouTube, I found a useful GPS news story from Ireland. That free video clip provided a great connection for my educators in determining how they can use this technology in the classroom.

There are other video resource sites that are filtered for educators, such as TeacherTube and SchoolTube, but I've found that these sites are less useful than the educational resources found on YouTube.

I've given presentations to school administrators about the use of YouTube. Most often, school districts block its use to prevent the inappropriate material from getting to the student level. Unfortunately, by blocking all of YouTube, they prevent all the great materials from getting in the hands of educators and students.

It all comes down to accountability. Would you play a video from a complete stranger to anyone without previewing it first? The same applies to YouTube. If you don't preview a video clip, you're playing with fire. Unfortunately, even the hint of a flame often causes the shutdown of a valuable resource.

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