Description

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YouTube is a popular video sharing website that allows users to post and share content with anybody with internet access.  Owned by Google, it can easily integrate with G-Suite applications.  Posted videos can be easily shared across many social media platforms or embedded into websites.  Users can create accounts to host videos, created playlists and comment on existing videos.  YouTube can be used to monetize original content and is a popular forum of communication for bloggers and content creators.  Youtube is the second most visited site on the internet and hosts over 5 billion shared videos (Aslam, 2019).  It is a major form of social communication and that is rapidly growing.

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Rationale

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In the classroom YouTube videos are commonly used to show concepts, examples, tutorials and reactions.  A YouTube search will bring a host of videos on almost any topic from a wide variety of creators.  This might include students, entrepreneurs, media organizations, educational and government institutions, NGOs and advocacy groups.  A short list of recommended YouTube channels for teaching I/S science is listed below: 

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Mr. Wizzard’s world – Older channel of practical demonstrations 

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ASAP science – Short videos relating to current science topics

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CGP Grey - Entertaining and thought provoking videos about thinking scientifically

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Khan Academy - Explanation of a broad range of concepts

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YouTube is not only an educational resource, but also a medium of communication.  Students can use YouTube as a platform to communicate and express their opinion with broader communities.  It can be an impotant tool of engagement providing students a platform to express opinions on social change and activism (McCafferty, 2011).  Berriman and Thomson (2014) proposed that teens use social media platforms like YouTube at varying levels of participation and visibility.  It is important that when educators allow students to voice their opinions they also inform students of the risks inherent with social media usage.  YouTube can offer the entire world as an audience, but that can come with increased risks of unwanted visibility, scrutiny and criticism. 

 

Within the SAMR framework viewing YouTube videos would represent an Augmentation level of enhancement to learning (Puentudura, 2013).  The YouTube platform has the ability to redefine how learning is achieved with the level of interaction it can promote between individuals in diverse geographic locations.  Students can use the platform to learn, respond with vlogs, and comment on posted content.  Using integrated closed captioning and translations increases the potential audience and helps make it a truly global platform.