"Mom! Can I watch YouTube?" This is a frequent question that I hear from my daughter. I'm always torn. I trust my daughter. I trust that she will not visit or search for any unsavory videos or subjects. But do I trust YouTube? Not really. YouTube for me has always been this big unknown. I usually only visit the popular site if a link from elsewhere takes me there, OR if I have a specific video I'm searching for. Otherwise, all that "chance" of seeing or hearing or experiencing something I don't want to is too big for my anti-risk taking ways.
All that being said, I embraced this adventure because I realize that I live in the 21st century. Like our professor says - THIS is what kids use the way we use Google. Do I like it? No. That doesn't change the fact that it IS a fact! Also, my husband had just set up an account channel for me to record videos for my library students - so I was looking forward to playing around with that a bit more. What did I learn in searching and playing around on YouTube? It's a pretty darn good substitute for Google! While I kept my search to the subjects we were assigned (Tech learning, Twitter, Web 2.0 tools, subject area, and items of personal interest), I did not see any blatantly awful results. I didn't click on everything, and I didn't read many comments. (Although, in hindsight, comments could theoretically give you some good info on whether or not you should waste your time on a video.) Everything I typed in produced some sort of result....which proves the similarities to Google....even if it wasn't exactly what I was searching. I'm not sure that this means I'll be using YouTube more often - but I certainly won't dismiss it as a useful tool.
Concerning the ongoing adventure in Twitter-land.....I've continued to hop on Twitter more frequently and check up on items of interest. I'm still not quick to let my brief thoughts fly....I'm more comfortable ruminating about them before I post anything. {Thought: There should be an app called "Moo"...for those who have thoughts but aren't ready for them to be out in the world. It could have a automatic delay setting of 3 days after the "post" button was hit with the option to "unpost" if the user changes their mind. I'm just kidding....}I can definitely see how Twitter could be useful in a secondary education setting among both students and colleagues. Elementary education should probably stay "twitter-less" except for faculty communications.
More adventures in Web 2.0 - I attended a VIRTUAL conference this week on Middle Grade Literature. That was really interesting. I joined a few author panels and that was a new experience. I feel like this might be something that happens more often in our immediate and near future. Authors still need to have their books advertised and "talked up" to their audience - but with all the restrictions - online may be the only way this is possible. I also found a really cool book testing tool (like Accelerated Reader) called Book Taco that could be called a Web 2.0 tool. It allowed for different styles of student creation within the program. We're always looking for new things to ramp up excitement in the library!
All in all - my adventures this week were an enlightening part of this journey in the world of Web 2.0.
I understand you apprehension. I know Youtube has been trying to crack down on child safety with the COPPA policy changes, but this doesn't really help students over 13. It has been a rocky start by hurting innocent content creators by demonetizing their channels and such...
ReplyDeleteThe students really do rely on Youtube for a lot of reasons. Primarily entertainment. I made a joke on one the FB remote teaching groups that now would be the time to become your students' favorite Youtuber. Honestly they need more positive role models on Youtube, so it really is an opportunity for teachers to make connections with their students.
You can actually schedule Tweets to come out on a certain day or time, so maybe that could be your solution.
I teach secondary and definitely do not feel comfortable allowing students to use it. However, as a teacher it is amazing at keeping me in the loop for new and useful teaching tools as well as relevant articles. It's the perfect way to get free PD and connect with other professionals.
The Book Taco program sounds really neat. I'm not studying to be a librarian, but you piqued my interest.