YouTube and You

As I have been attending classes for my master's degree, I have had the pleasure of having a teacher who has mastered the technique of embedding media bytes into her presentations. This got me to thinking. If she can do it (and it really does get your attention) and conduct a successful lesson, then most teachers should be able to pull it off.

I think the first step in a successful implementation is simply SEARCH IN ADVANCE! Don't stop in the middle of a lesson and say, "Hmmm, I bet there is a great clip out there that would help teach this, hold on a minute!" My recommendation is to create a free wiki (see past posting on this topic) and upload or even embed the videos by subject or topic. Will it be time consuming? To add your clip to your wiki is a maximum of an extra 15 seconds at most (once you learn the process of embedding into wiki's. For an example of what it would look like, go HERE. Welcome Back! :) Think how nice it will be for years to come to pull up or find all those awesome clips you took the time to find. What a blessing.

Second tip, make sure that you are using video clips and sound bytes that are appropriate for your age level. You can turn off the "recommend videos" link when embedding so that it doesn't suggest more videos when your selected clip finishes playing.

Third, don't over do it. One or two well placed clips will be enough to make any lesson a hit! Also, be sure the clip supports your content in some manner. Just showing funny clips, while fun, won't be effective and will totally derail your entire lesson. Save the knee-slappers for the end of the day.

Lastly, remember there are 3 different YouTube forums available to teachers: YouTube.com, TeacherTube.com, and YouTube.com/EDU

Have fun, enjoy finding clips, and let me know if you find any other great sources for sound bytes and clips.

Just Teach It...