I. Love. YouTube. I am sure that is hard to believe with the microscopic number of videos I have posted here. Like most people, I really enjoy visiting YouTube to find the latest funny video that is sweeping the nation like a plague. I have seen “Tron Guy”, “Dramatic Chipmunk”, “Star Wars Kid”, “Numa Numa” and “Evolution of Dance” among many, many others.
In addition to its entertainment value, YouTube is a useful tool as well. I have a friend who learned how to play the piano on nothing else but YouTube videos. You can learn almost anything you can think of through videos that have been posted. It is simple to post videos you have created on their web site, and then use the link they give you for your own web site.
In the classroom, though, I think YouTube can be a lifesaver. For me, YouTube has every, single School House Rock video I think they ever made, in high quality. This may be a cop-out, but the songs they come up with for grammar concepts are very easily remembered (at least for me they are) and they can really help students remember them outside of the classroom. They’re also a break from the norm, which students always welcome. Also, if somebody else can explain grammar (which is my weak area) I am welcome for any help I can get. In that vein, here are some of my favorites:
Ben,
I absolutely loved your videos! It definitely put a nice twist on what I’ve been expecting out of YouTube blogs. I also like how you tied YouTube into education. You are going to make an excellent teacher! Keep up the good posts!
xoxo, Nikki May
Thank you so much for the kind words! I might post on this from the classroom in the future!
Ben,
Fantastic post! I always loved Schoolhouse Rock, so I’m definitely a fan of the videos you included. You’re right, there is so much more to YouTube than just viral videos — I think it’s so cool that someone learned to play piano just from videos! Social media has become so much more than connecting; it’s also about learning, as you showed here!
SL
I really look for ways to learn in everything I do in class, just so I don’t get into a rut when I get my own class. If I am learning as well as the kids, all the better. Oh yeah, that dude is freakin’ re-donkulous on the piano. Playing Freebird from memory?! I was shocked.
Ben,
First off, awesome title! And I completely agree with you about YouTube being there when you need it. I use it for music, explanations if I can’t figure out how to do something, and also the many funny videos that are on there. Great post!
Tiffany
Thank you so much! If someone else has posted a video explaining something better than I can, or if I’m doing something that I don’t have a clue about (i.e. anything to do with home maintenance) YouTube is there to assist.
Ben,
Conjunction Junction….its been around even since I was watching tv as a kid. I loved playing it and reminding me of those days. You have an amazing way to be able to relate our lessons to your life as teacher. What a great gift you have!
Terri
Thank you so much! Some call it a gift, others say I’m just a nerd. But if I can’t relate what I’m learning to what I want to do as a professional, then what benefit am I really getting out of it?
Ben,
I love that you harkened back to such an important/impactful part of my childhood. I truly thing the School House Rock videos helped me become the grammar and punctuation nerd I am today! I certainly don’t remember watching them in class, only at home on Saturday mornings, but what an idea! They’re so much more interesting for kids than worksheets and other traditional grammar-teaching tools. And, because YouTube allows you to have these videos at your fingertips 24/7, teachers do have the ability to spice up their grammar lessons! Good thinkin.’
~Karen
Thank you, thank you. I had only heard of them via my parents, because they really weren’t being shown on Saturdays anymore. Tragic, I know. But I did watch the history ones in class a little bit. They’re just so darn good! I can still remember “The shot heard ’round the world/was the start of the Revolution” and other parts of that clip, which is more than I can say for most other stuff I learned in high school.