In the past 5 years Youtube has grown to become the second biggest search engine on the planet. If there is something that you need to know how to do, it will probably be on Youtube. Below is a Youtube video that explains just how incredibly fast our world is changing and how far we have come.
Youtube is not only for music and entertainment (which there is a lot of) but it can also be educational. It is a great way to engage students in learning. If you have students that have trouble sitting and listening to you teach then try showing a Youtube video. Marc Prensky presents an interesting statement by saying that 'even if you are the most engaging old-style teacher in the world, you are not going to capture most of our students’ attention the old way'(prensky, p. 64). Therefore the solution is to 'find how to present our curricula in ways that engage our students— not just to create new “lesson plans,” not even just to put the curriculum online. (Prensky, p. 64)
In this day and age we as teachers need to be continuously developing our skills in technology to keep up with new tools. By doing this we can create a learning environment for students where they are engaging in technology that that are apart of their everyday lives.
Not only are videos great for viewing, gathering information and providing entertainment they can also be a great tool for presenting assignments. Here is an example that I put together. It is a stop motion animation about making friends. It is a bit abstract and I probably wouldn't show it to lower primary students.
Check out Windows Movie Maker.http://www.youtube.com/
Prensky, M. (2005, September). Engage me or Enrage me What today's learners Demand. Retrieved August 25, 2010, from EDUCause: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf
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