Today's administrators are challenged to turn outdated, disconnected, and slow moving schools into 21st century, Internet connected, fast-paced buildings of learning. This is a tall order.
YouTube is well known for progressive, highly connective, and fast-paced. If you want to know what's 'cool,' 'hip,' and 'in,' visit the YouTube home page. There is up-to-the-second information on what is trending throughout the world. You're able to see the most viewed videos the day, week, month, year, and all-time.
YouTube is very connected. Viewers from Africa can watch and learn from others in Canada with click of a button. Students are able to watch lectures from across the country from the convenience of their own classroom.
YouTube is fast-paced. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you have time to learn it, and with anyone you care to share it with, YouTube allows instant access to information. Viewers are able to take in and process information through audio, video, and images at a rate many times faster than the traditional method of reading from books.
With a tool this powerful, which has the potential to solve many of the problems administrators have in moving their schools into the 21st century, it's frustrating to see schools and districts banning its use.
To help get started on the path to the 21st century, use YouTube in your school to:
- Starting off staff meetings with a laugh
- Record how well the school is progressing, let teachers, students, and parents watch
- Start a YouTube channel for your school
- Interview 'star students' and place videos on the school website
- Record morning announcements and play them at the start of the day
- Have videos running as visitors enter the school and/or office
- Create videos with instructions for faculty or staff
- Embed TED Talks or other videos on the school website
- Encourage students to create content for YouTube and add it it iTunesU
- Ask students and teachers to create vlogs and post them on their blog
- Have a team of students video and document events around school
- Upload sporting and special events so students can relive the fun
There are plenty of additional ways for administrators to use YouTube in their school. We hope this list gets you started!
Need more of a reason to use YouTube in school? Watch former Professor of the Year Michael Wesch explain the anthropological aspects of YouTube. In this video he explains his work to the library of congress. The video is nearly an hour long, but worth every minute!
