When allowed in a school the combination of YouTube and education can be a useful element in any classroom. Youtube provides a format of educational technolgy that can create a wonderful opportunity for students and educators a like to use a new educational technology format for learning and development. This in turn expands the education process as well as the educational experience. Here is one YouTube project you can use to enhance the learning experience.
Before having any student do any type of project online, be sure to get parental permission for the project and its facets. This is a safeguard to avoid upsetting any parents. It is also a good way to keep the parents up to date on how educational technology is being used in the classroom. Once permission is granted, have the students create a YouTube account.
Separate students into groups. The first YouTube project is going to be a project of introduction and interests. Each group needs to make a video that introduces the group and allows each group member to express his and her individual interests. Students should also discuss how they plan to use their interests and the YouTube site to enhance their education. Each member of the group should identify themselves with a skill and what their role is in the group. At this point, there is no particular school subject interest, just the development of a group that will be working on future projects together. During the first video, students should discuss who did what when creating the project. Groups should be creative in this introduction so that the individuals stand out, but the theme of introduction is the main focus of the project.
To identify what role each person will play, first identify what roles are needed for the projects. The following basic roles will be needed for future projects as well as any specific roles you may want to include.
- Sound Effects and Music management. This person will be in charge of background music and any sounds that are used in the projects.
- Scenery Coordinator. The role of this person will be to develop the scenery involved in videos to be made for the class projects.
- Theme Support. While it is the role of every student to develop the theme assigned to them, this person is responsible for making sure that the focus remains on the theme of the project.
- Project Coordinator. This person will make sure that all the other roles are working together in a cohesive manner that ensures all the elements of the project are working toward the same goal with the details tying together in such a way as to make sense to the potential audience.
- Video Manager. This person is responsible for the actual recording of all facets of the project. He or she can either actually perform the recording or designate someone else to do the recording, but he or she is responsible for the quality of the end project.
Since the school will probably not be the one providing the material for the videos, certain limits should be set on what can and cannot be used in future projects. In this manner, the focus can be kept on the project itself rather than on the equipment used to create the project. Remember, this is only the first project that will lead to the creation of others.