Teaching the Teacher Using Youtube!

Say the word 'Youtube' and everyone will think of something different. Some think of the amazing cat and dog videos out there. Others think of the cool music videos one can view.
Now, these things are FUN, no doubt but Youtube can be a valuable tool for teaching the teacher.

You can use it to look up fixes for computers, iPads and a variety of other things. You can go to Youtube to get an idea of how to teach a lesson. I used it just the other day when I was struggling with teaching a fun, interactive and valuable lesson on Powerpoint. I knew what I wanted to do but I couldn't seem to make it coalesce into something so off to Youtube I went!
There was a teacher who had a new iPad she received from the ESL department. She had NO idea how to use it and neither did I so we jumped on Youtube and found out what she wanted. Easy!

Now if you are the brave type that likes to be in the limelight then please get out there and make videos for others to share! They don't have to be movie quality they just have to show what you are teaching! Teachers are the most valuable resource to other teachers!
If you have a video out there please let me know so we can share it with others! : )

Whee! Let's Go Youtubin! Using Videos in the Classroom

Most teachers shudder when they hear Youtube uttered in the classroom. I can understand why. Youtube has a bad reputation. It can feature the dregs of society or the finest society has to offer. It is up to us, as teachers, to navigate that mess and emerge victorious with just the right video to make the point we wish for the students to grasp.
One of the biggest drawbacks to Youtube is the often unsavory content that is featured on the sidebar. There is nothing like pulling up a video featuring the ABC song only to find an ad highlighting a scantily clad woman prancing around on a beach!

There are ways around this problem. One is to use something called Teacher Tube. The sign up is free and they have a pretty large variety of offerings. As always you must use your professional judgment when choosing a video. Also, please, for heaven's sake, watch the WHOLE video! You don't want to wind up in a bad situation because you skimmed through it and missed that one little thing that the kids picked up on and you wound up in trouble for!

All the resources you need to know about math, art, educational videos, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more.

Another thing you can do is snag videos from Youtube. Now, I am not a lawyer but videos that do not have a copyright usually fall under the "fair use" umbrella. For example, my kids are crazy over the video "What Does the Fox Say?" so I used it as a teaching moment to give them a lesson on conservation, fur farming and what sounds the fox actually makes by using a video about a lovely fox named Kevie! You can hear her chatter here if you are interested.
There are many programs that allow you to snag videos from Youtube but the one I use is the one I downloaded from Cnet. You can look at it and even download it here.

There are also videos that can be used directly from their parent sites. Obviously this is not a comprehensive list. I will add more as I go along.
Discovery Channel has videos but here again you have to be careful what they advertise before the actual video. No one wants the kids to view a commercial for Naked and Afraid!
Nat Geo Kids
NASA Kids
Kids dot gov
Wake Up and Smell the Freedom - this is for the older kids and adults that want to learn about the Constitution as well as our government.