YouTube: Educational Potentials and Pitfalls

The instructional potential of video technology in the classroom is promising, especially in light of the 21st Century Learning Framework (Siegle, 2009). Studies show positive gains in student outcomes as a result of the integration of video technology in instruction. This article explores potential uses of YouTube as an instructional aid in lessons and in planning. Emphasis is placed on using YouTube directly in social studies instruction and as a teaching resource in elementary classrooms. Attention is also given to the evaluation of YouTube videos. This article discusses the potential challenges of using YouTube in the classroom and offers suggestions for overcoming those challenges.

[1]  Pablo Rodriguez,et al.  I tube, you tube, everybody tubes: analyzing the world's largest user generated content video system , 2007, IMC '07.

[2]  Peter Duffy,et al.  Engaging the YouTube Google-Eyed Generation: Strategies for Using Web 2.0 in Teaching and Learning. , 2008 .

[3]  Whitney H. Rapp.  Avoiding Math Taboos: Effective Math Strategies for Visual-Spatial Learners. , 2009 .

[4]  John C. Park.  Video Allows Young Scientists New Ways to Be Seen. , 2009 .

[5]  Del Siegle,et al.  Technology: Literacy in the 21st Century: The Fourth R—Video Recording , 2009 .

[6]  Donald O. Schneider,et al.  Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Bulletin 89. , 1994 .

[7]  C. Mayora.  Using YouTube to Encourage Authentic Writing in EFL Classrooms , 2009 .

[8]  John Lee,et al.  From Watching Newsreels to Making Videos. , 2009 .

[9]  Robert Harris,et al.  Evaluating Internet Research Sources , 2011 .

[10]  David G. Haase.  The YouTube Makeup Class , 2009 .

[11]  Christy Desmet,et al.  Teaching Shakespeare with YouTube , 2009 .

[12]  Margaret L. Niess,et al.  This Rock 'n' Roll Video Teaches Math. , 2009 .

[13]  Elisa Joy White,et al.  Coffy, YouTube, and Uncle Ben: The Use of Film and New Media in the Teaching of African American Studies at the University of Hawai'i. , 2009 .

[14]  Leslie J. Couse,et al.  A Tablet Computer for Young Children? Exploring its Viability for Early Childhood Education , 2010 .

[15]  Rebecca Mullen,et al.  Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with YouTube, Digital Stories, and Blogs , 2008 .

[16]  Ronald A. Berk,et al.  Multimedia Teaching with Video Clips: TV, Movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the College Classroom , 2009 .

[17]  Janette Mandell,et al.  Taming chaos , 1997 .

[18]  Robert W. Sweeny,et al.  There's no I in YouTube: social media, networked identity and art education , 2009 .

[19]  S. Schuck,et al.  Classroom-Based Use of Two Educational Technologies: A Sociocultural Perspective , 2008 .