Some final thoughts on videosharing

Below is my first so called attempt at videosharing. I realize that it is not a true video, but we don't have a webcam, so I have to make due with what is available. I used Windows Movie Maker to create a video using still pictures. For a first-time user, it was quite easy to create my "masterpiece." The only difficulty that I had was choosing suitable music - that took much longer than creating the video! Once I was finished creating my video, I had to decide where I would upload the video. I didn't think that it was appropriate for Teachertube, so I decided to use Youtube. The process was fairly easy once I signed up, and the only real difficulty I had was actually trying to figure out how to get it to show up on my blog, rather than hyperlinking it as I have done with the past videos that I have viewed.

So what can videosharing add to teaching and learning?

Besides what I have mentioned in a previous blog about teachers using videos to enhance lessons, and students using them as means of presenting knowledge, there are other benefits as well. As some teachers (me included) are just figuring out, our students are teaching themselves how to use many of the web tools that are available. But the important thing to think about is that they don't necessarily think of this as learning, rather they are thinking about it as a necessary means of social networking. They don't realize that they are infact analyzing, manipulating and synthesizing information, as well as collaborating with others and creating amazing products.

Further to this, Young makes an interesting observation in "The Chronical of Higher Education" when he states that "Web video opens a new form of public intellectualism to scholars looking to participate in an increasingly visual culture" (January 25, 2008). Video sharing sites allow people to seek out information. People tend to educate themselves on topics of personal interest, and because the videos are short bits of information, most not longer than 5 minutes, they are effective in maintaining people's attention spans and providing them with the desired knowledge.

What really made an impact on me is Michael Wesch's comments that "Web video offers a new way for scholars to communicate,. . ., noting that he wrote a scholarly article about the same ideas he put in his video, but that the article might be read by only a small number of scholars." (Young, 2008) That would be ashame, as the information that he presents in An anthropological introduction to Youtube helps to explain the impact that Youtube has had, and will continue to have, on society.

Finally, because our youth are so visually inclined and stimulated, educators need to be encouraged to use web media within the classroom in order to maintain students' interest. I know that I will now make a conscious effort to scan Youtube and Teachertube for interesting tidbits to enrich the learning environment in my classroom.