YouTube in the Classroom?

I recently read an article in Technology & Learning Magazine that proposed that we begin using YouTube content to enhance our lessons, and to improve educational practices. I must admit that my first gut reaction was somewhat negative due to the inability to ensure school appropriate content. Although YouTube does a pretty good job of keeping pornographic content off there are many things that still don't belong in our schools. As I read the article I began to change my mind. There are many videos that have very valid teaching points that are also of high interest to students. In fact my sons teacher frequently uses YouTube type content in many of his lessons, and my son has shown a remarkable ability to not only remember the video but also the teaching point that the teacher used in relation to it.

Our school blocks YouTube and many other sites as they probably should. I don't think there is any educational value in turning a 6th grade class loose in the lab to look at videos. But with carefully selected videos, it is possible to create very engaging lessons.

Touch screen Ipod on the way in 07

The Apple iPod has now overtaken our society in a way that no one could have imagined. With the introduction of the iPhone It will likely continue to grow well into the future. Sources from inside say that Apple is about to introduce a full screen iPod, that uses a touch screen similar to the functionality of the the newly introduces iPhone. It could be announced as early as late February. As we look at the advancing technology we need to consider the implications it will have on our classrooms, and determine what place if any they have in education.

With previous versions of iPod there has been limited value because a portable tape or cd player could preform the same functions for a fraction of the cost. With the advent of the iPod Video the possibilities of a useful classroom tool significantly increased. Teachers can now target individual students with videos that will remediate, review, or reward. As a special education teacher I use the iPod Video to teach math concepts that need review. I can put a video on for a student to target a specific need and work with other students at the same time. If a student were absent it would be very easy to give him an iPod to view the video he missed the day before without interupting the rest of the class.

The challenge at this point is that there is a very limited amount of content available. This problem can be addressed in a few ways. With knowledge and the right hardware it is possible to encode your existing videos the problem with this is the consumer level hardware delivers poor results. The next option is to use a service that does the conversion. Expedition Productions is one company that provides a service that will convert video from VHS and DVD to various computer formats including iPod. These services deliver great results for a reasonable cost.

I have a source that has let me know that there will be a new educational video company that will release all of it's videos with the DVD, and a computer based disk with the video formated for the computer screen, iPod, PSP, and other devises. When they launch I will provide details about this amazing new company.