Thing #18, User-Generated Videos, Pt. 2

I always loved pop-up books when I was little; I always bought them for my kids when they were little; now, I may have to get this one for the library. So many fun videos...so little time.

How can you not love everything about YouTube -- in theory, anyway. It is a place to learn, associate, create, laugh, cry, and share with the world. As with anything, it is something that can be abused...some of our students will go where they shouldn't, watch videos on their phone under their desks or on the monitor while the teacher isn't looking, and misuse the medium. But the wealth of information that is accumulating on YouTube (TeacherTube and other video resources) is amazing. The opportunity to become a creator and contributor is amazing. As a learning tool, the user-generated video capabilities are exciting -- for lectures, study sessions, educational video, demonstrations, as well as commercial content from companies and media outlets. Freely available anytime and anywhere the learner chooses to access it... uh, well, almost.

YouTube is generally blocked, not only in our district, but in many school districts. Yes...there is objectionable, useless, silly content (just as in any media). I don't understand the overall rationale in blocking all content, without any consideration for use and learning. A few students view some silly videos and then the entire site, even the amazing, educational, useful content is lost for all. I can understand keeping the IP address blocked, but instructors should have the option to use a temporary override to view valuable content in their classroom.

Then...there is always the bandwidth issue -- a few hundred simultaneous users can bring the network to it's knees. We, as a district, have to find ways to utilize the vast amount of learning resources for our students and learning communities. Videos are just the tip of the iceberg -- user-generated content, collaborative projects and presentations, and other robust Internet applications will also be bandwidth hogs. We, as a district, have to find the solution to open up this new standard of educational delivery and instruction. What if the mill levy doesn't pass... will we continue to limit the opportunities available to our students? Ah, the perpetual questions...