What is video sharing…

Video sharing is exactly what the name suggests – it “refers to websites or software where users can distribute their video clips” (Wikipedia). These videos may often include movie or television clips, online tutorials, amateur shorts or videoblogging. Similar to photo sharing, there are numerous such sites on the web that allow users to create, upload and store their personal videos, as well as share video clips with a global audience. Most “user generated video sharing” is free online, and some services like Blip.tv will even market your video for a share in the sales.

Video sharing uses the Web as a two-way platform, allowing for both posting and viewing. Many of these videos are home videos, intended for a small viewership, usually less than one hundred people. In addition to broadcasting their own video clips, viewers are able to watch and comment on the videos of others. They can also choose to rate the videos they watch and add ones they like to their “favorites.” As well, if you enjoy following the video content of a particular contributor, you can also subscribe to specific “content feeds.”

Most video sharing sites have established rules and warn users against posting offensive content including nudity, criminal conduct and hate messages. Videos can be shared in a variety of ways, including via email, as well as linked to other sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Digg and del.icio.us.

Why YouTube is so popular for so many…

There is something for everyone on YouTube… from the sublime to the ridiculous. YouTube describes itself as “the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through the Web experience.” Created in 2005 and purchased by Google in 2006, YouTube is definitely a phenomenon that has elevated the amateur videographer to independent producer and broadcaster. The YouTube slogan is “Broadcast yourself” and encourages everyone to become a producer.

With a YouTube account, the user can search and browse millions of videos; comment, rate and even make a video response to someone else’s video; upload and share videos; and store favorite videos in one location that may be viewed or shared at a later date. If you can’t decide what to watch, the YouTube homepage offers up suggestions in the form of “what people are watching right now,” “promoted videos” and “featured videos” which include the most viewed, most discussed and top favorited. Approximately 88% of the videos uploaded onto YouTube are new material and original in terms of content.

As with other Web 2.0 tools, video sharing sites like YouTube, change the use of the Web from “distributed” or “transmitted” to “participatory” in its nature (Solomon & Schrum, p.46). According to the National Research Council of Canada, we are not undergoing a technological revolution, but rather a “social revolution.” YouTube gives users “a voice,” especially kids (Anna Adam & Helen Mowers, YouTube comes to the classroom).

What the experts are saying…

In his Anthropological introduction to YouTube video, Michael Wesch compares the three major American television networks to the YouTube video sharing site. He makes a startling revelation when he states that YouTube has produced and broadcast more video in the last six months than the three major networks have done in the past sixty years. It hardly seems plausible, yet thousands of videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. As an anthropologist, Michael Wesch, makes a compelling case for what he refers to as a “new cultural order” online. YouTube is making it possible for people to connect in new ways… and in ways we can’t even predict. People are forging new friendships and building new communities online by creating and broadcasting their own content.

Wesch also observes that there is a very “self-reflective” mood that prevails in this new culture and calls YouTube “a great place to study self.” This is most apparent in personal videoblogs where “anonymity” and “personal distance” seem to give participants the freedom to express themselves in the “raw.” I understand what Wesch means when he says that the experience of watching someone’s personal story is somewhat voyeuristic in nature. When my colleague sent me the address to her YouTube video of her Tuscan holiday, I felt that I was intruding on her family vacation by watching something so personal.

According to Will Richardson, “the vast majority of YouTube content is appropriate” but it’s the “anyone can publish anything” aspect that gives educators pause. Richardson also argues that educators might rethink their rationale for blocking video sharing sites like YouTube at school and take the opportunity to educate students to become evaluators of content… and I’m inclined to agree with him. We can’t possibly be so naive as to believe that students aren’t already viewing inappropriate content online outside school hours. Would it not be more valuable to give them an authentic experience at school in learning to think more critically about what they choose to view online?

There is no question that YouTube does contain video material that we would all agree is not appropriate for student viewing… and it doesn’t take long to find it… Even a simple search beginning “how to…” immediately brings up a host of inappropriate videos. The “YouTube” community publishes guidlines for responsible behaviour on site and depends on users to “flag” inappropriate content. The “Don’t cross the line” area in the guidelines gives a very clear description of what is allowed and what is not. If a user violates the guidelines, their account is terminated and they are prevented from creating a new one.

In the article entitled “YouTube comes to the classroom” (School Library Journal, January 2007), when it comes to whether or not we decide to use YouTube in our classrooms, authors Anna Adam and Helen Mowers state that “we can stick our heads in the sand and ignore YouTube, or we can use it to motivate students” (p.22). They make a very valid point because video sharing sites, like YouTube, empower and motivate users with the knowledge that there is an audience “out there” who will listen to what they have to say.

How educators are using YouTube and TeacherTube…

There are a number of ways that I could see educators using YouTube effectively in the classroom. The ability to create and share video online opens learning up to a wider community. This kind of viewership moves learning beyond the confines of the classroom walls.

On both YouTube and TeacherTube, educators can find videos that can be used in their classrooms. To make searching easier, there are organized groups of users, such as the K12 educators, represented by collection of approximately 300 videos. There seems to be some overlap between the two sites, meaning that almost everything on TeacherTube can also be found on YouTube. TeacherTube offers some interesting videos on how to use cellphones in the classroom as learning tools, as well as more practical instructional videos on maintaining classroom management. There are also some rather rambling offerings by teachers who muse about what should be taught and what students need to learn… interesting but perhaps not all that useful.

Despite the reality that YouTube is blocked from use in most schools, it is apparent that both teachers and students are active viewers and participants in accessing this site. If educators want to use YouTube videos in their classrooms, but do not have access at school, there are several options such as converting the video to another format or downloading the video to a disk at home. Some teachers may try to get around the problem by “embedding” videos they want to use in the classroom within another site that they do have access to like their school web page or even a blog. However, I can attest that this doesn’t work if your divisional filter is blocking YouTube. Even though I can view my blog at work, the filter prevents me from editing the content and viewing video clips from outside sources.

Educators interested in using digital storytelling to create better videos, could give students opportunities to write, produce and publish their own material on YouTube. To be able to share what they create with the world gives both students and teachers purpose for making a video. The YouTube handbook also offers novice videographers a number of tips and tricks that will help them to create better videos… everything from classic camera moves, panning and tilting, lighting and sound. There are also examples of videos that use powerpoint slides, stop-go animation, claymation and time lapse photography. Educators can use these exemplars to model techniques to help students create more professional looking videos of their own to share.

In his article “Video in the age of participation,” Glen Bull, co-director of the Center of Technology at the University of Virgina, reminds us that “teachers have long used movies and videos as effective classroom tools” (Learning & Leading with Technology, February 2007). He also adds that “isolating the appropriate portion of a video can be a cumbersome process.” In this sense, video sharing increases the potential for learning when teachers can make more effective use of a video clip to enhance a lesson or illustrate a key point in the classroom. There are useful tutorials that explain a variety of concepts including improper fractions, one point perspective and even how to use Web 2.0 tools.

Almost every professional development event incorporates some use of video clips. Presenters often embed YouTube videos in their own presentations or on a web site to illustrate a point or concept. Educators can also create their own original videos and use them to complement a lesson or presentation. On TeacherTube, educators can even use the site to connect with other teachers for professional development and collaboration purposes.

What I am thinking…

Every week, I am overwhelmed by the vast information “mediascape” that makes up the Web 2.0 web culture. There is so much to learn and absorb that one can never cover it all… but after spending the week exploring video sharing sites like YouTube and TeacherTube, and reading a variety of sources, there are two things I know for sure… first, almost all school divisions block video sharing sites like YouTube from use in schools… and second, most educators believe there is a place for the inclusion of such sites, to motivate young learners to “discover their voice” and enrich their learning experience. So this does present somewhat of a problem. How can something so good, be considered so bad?

In making decisions as to whether or not we should include Web 2.0 services such as video sharing in our schools, I think that we need to remember that even if this type of learning seems foreign to our 20th century mindset, our students are already very comfortable learning from multimedia formats. We need to understand that video sharing increases student participation and learning in a new way. The opportunity to share their work with a worldwide audience gives students a more authentic learning experience. For the creator and writer, there is that sense of pride associated with publishing one’s work in a more meaningful way and receiving actual feedback. There is the possibility for connecting and collaborating with others who have a similar purpose. The comment feature gives student the chance to reflect and respond to what they view in a way that it means something. There is someone else interested in what they have to say.

Also, the opportunity for students and teachers to connect with primary sources is invaluable. A quick search revealed first hand accounts of the sinking of the Titanic and the horrors of the Holocaust, all from interviews with survivors. As teacher-librarians, we advocate the use of primary sources in conducting research. With video sharing sites like YouTube, we have the opportunity to bring such rare accounts of historical events to life for our students.

One of my ongoing goals is to raise the profile of school libraries in our school division. From the “100 awesome YouTube vids for Librarians,” I was able to find inspiration in several videos that showed different students talking about how they used the school library. There were also videos on information literacy, plagiarism and electronic databases… all of which would be useful resources to me in my current assignment.

Beginning a courageous conversation…

After three weeks exploring and blogging about Web 2.0, I am beginning to develop a deeper understanding of what it could mean to our teaching practises and student learning… to have all these cost-saving tools and services available in our classrooms and libraries. Given our limited access at work, I had the sense that Web 2.0 tools were something we used after school hours, primarily for entertainment. With the study of each new tool, it becomes increasingly apparent that the benefits to student learning outweigh the negatives.

So who decides that Web content must be filtered at school but not at home? Technology educators? Senior administrators? Web masters? Is it possible that those outside the education community are deciding what is appropriate for teachers and students to view online?