UNIT 11: Captivate Your Class with Video

In this unit, you’ll learn to:

• Search and find content creators and videos using YouTube
• Identify best practices for using YouTube in the classroom
• Harness the YouTube subscription feature to develop a stream of top quality educational content
• Curate educational videos based on topic, genre, or standard in playlists
• Share videos through playlists, forms, and slides
• Create the optimal viewing experience for students by adjusting YouTube controls

YouTube at one point brought to mind only videos kids made in their basement that they didn't want their parents to see.  Much like Wikipedia, its reputation has changed, and teachers that choose to use neither are now behind the times.  YouTube can be integrated with so many audio-visual programs and used to store the uploaded files, the only hard part of using it is getting the access if it is banned, blocked or heavily filtered in your schools' Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

There are many ways to convince your school board/tech department/content area specialist/person in charge that you do in fact need YouTube access.

YouTube will let you filter through playlists, channels, create subscriptions to content, search keywords...there are many ways to find things.  There are many things that you don't want your kids finding - and just like filters and SafeSearching in Google Search, you can teach and protect your students in YouTube.

There are obvious things you can do with YouTube (upload and share a video) that I'm not going to get into.  What I really like, and what I think is the most important when discussing GAFE is that these videos can be not only linked to documents, but the can be embedded in a Presentation or a Form, as well as a Site.  Links are fine, but change where you are watching.  Embedding means you can create a Form as a quiz or test, provide a video, and have students respond without leaving the Form, or having multiple distracting tabs open.

Once you have found Channels and created playlists you like, you can share those playlists with your students, so if it is important to watch something in a certain order, you can do that.  Or if you want to shake it up, let them shuffle and discuss the experience of a different process (if applicable to your lesson.content area).  Sometimes changing the procedure nets beautiful learning opportunities.  Using YouTube can be a free, and easy way to kick it up a notch, and let your students know you are as engaged as they are.