Why YouTube for Schools could be a game changer
Today’s teachers have to be more than narration machines; they have to entertain their pupils in order to educate them. So the launch of YouTube for Schools may well make the video site a valuable and free teaching aid and not just a distraction in class rooms.
This excellent TED Talk is one of over 400,000 videos available on YouTube for Schools. The presentation by Gabe Zichermann is on how video games can make kids smarter. It’s a great video, but aside from praising games he makes the point that children live in a world full of stimulation and traditional teaching finds it hard to compete – kids want more and they want it faster.
YouTube for Schools is a trimmed down version of the ‘proper’ website and designed to allow teachers access a tailored collection of educational videos organised by the level of their students and subjects.
We know YouTube is popular with young people, but it’s not all about sneezing panders and talking dogs. Previous research of ours has shown that for many school children YouTube is their preferred search engine for homework as they seek out video on their subjects over written articles. For example base jumping Norwegians might not seem educational but can act as a platform to introduce kids to forces.
Research we carried out for the 2011 Children’s Media Conference found that 46 per cent of boys watch online videos at home and of the children who consume online video 66 per cent do so through YouTube. However, YouTube is often seen by schools as a distraction and by parents as unsafe, so is often blocked along with Facebook and gaming sites.
YouTube for Schools will that children learning about the heart can hear from Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor who had a stroke herself; and those being taught statistics can get extra help from the Khan Academy.
YouTube for Schools is YouTube’s most affective avenue into education, but could it also help its parent site lose some of its credibility? We find that children are often attracted to the sites anarchy and layout – it could be the case that seeing the service as a tool for school might result in children being put off.
For a full run down of what YouTube for Schools is all about we suggest you read this article from Digital Trends. Or alternatively, and rather suitably, watch this YouTube video.
What do you think about this new YouTube product? Is it the future of teaching or nothing new?
