Before taking this course, I had only been a casual user of YouTube, and rarely used it in the classroom because it is blocked in my school. Mainly I had used it for my own entertainment purposes at home. By creating my own YouTube channel, I have learned how to locate the multitude of educational videos available and curate them into playlists to use in my classrooms. I have been adding to my playlists throughout the semester and will continue to do so after this course. It has helped me integrate video more often into my lessons. Creating the playlist lesson and the media literacy lesson was also a valuable learning experience. The playlist lesson showed me how to use one of my curated lists of videos to create a lesson directly in YouTube. The media literacy lesson showed me how to develop a lesson using both Google Forms and YouTube videos. I have never developed lessons like this before and I found them to be very useful to use with the students in my computer classes. Finally, one of my major accomplishments was learning how to create my own professional educational videos. I am still a novice, but I have realized that I do have the capability to create my own videos and feel that I can use what I have learned to help my students create quality videos as well.
I think that I value the use of YouTube in education more now that I have taken this course. There is a lot of junk and crazy videos out there, but what I have learned throughout this course is that it is possible to create an account filled with superior videos that can be used to enhance a student’s educational experience. I still believe that YouTube should be blocked on the students’ computers in my school solely because I work at the elementary level and I do not want them to be exposed to something that they shouldn’t. I am thankful that we have developed an easy work around for our teachers, though, so that they can access YouTube videos to share with their students on their computers. Through my experiences, I have realized that with proper leadership and guidance YouTube can be a wonderful tool for teaching students how to create quality multimedia experiences and how to analyze the videos they view.
Being media literate means that one has the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. When a person is media literate, they can better understand and evaluate the messages they receive through all types of media including the television, radio, internet, music, and print. In order to be media literate, one must be able to analyze what the creator wants us to believe or do and identify any marketing strategies or techniques of persuasion. Someone who is media literate should also be able to evaluate whether the information presented shows bias or provides misinformation or if parts of the story are being left out. One should also reflect on their own beliefs and values and evaluate media messages using those beliefs and values. As an educator, it is my job to help my students develop these critical thinking skills. While teaching digital citizenship lessons, I have only briefly touched on media literacy with my students. After creating my media literacy lesson, I was really struck by how essential it is for me to put more of an emphasis on educating my students on the importance of becoming media literate. Many times when my students sit down in my computer lab to work on projects and research, I observe them using pretty much any piece of information they find without ever questioning who created the information, its reliability, and whether or not it is credible. Now, I find myself stopping the students more often and having them pause and analyze the information they are viewing or reading before they decide to apply it to their classwork. It is my goal that they start to move away from taking things at face value and believing them to be true all the time.
Throughout my reflection I have listed some specific ways that I will use the projects, skills, and ideas from this course like adding to my playlists and continuing to build new playlists. I will also continue to educate my students in developing their media literacy skills. I’d like to continue creating more Powtoon educational videos in order to demonstrate computer skills that we use in my computer classes and for digital citizenship lessons. I think that my students would love to create their own Powtoon video demonstrations and I hope to be able to purchase a subscription for my school. We also offer electives at my school to our junior high students. I would like to offer video production during one of these modules and teach my students the three steps of pre-production, production, and post production. We have never offered anything like that at my school, and I think it would be a learning valuable experience for them.
The following three projects demonstrate mastery of the AECT Standards:
Educator’s YouTube Channel:
Standard 1 (Indicators 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4): I created a YouTube channel with an educational focus to house instructional content and the videos I created for this course. I selected educational videos for my channel and categorized them by educational topic. I also added subscriptions that featured channels that house videos that could be used in my educational setting. I assessed YouTube videos and subscriptions to channels to determine whether they would be of educational value for my classroom setting. I successfully categorized and organized the playlists and subscriptions on my channel for easier access when using the videos in the classroom.
Standard 2 (Indicators 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4): Knowing the content that I need to cover with my students in their computer and library classes, I used that knowledge to carefully evaluate and select educational videos that would support classroom lessons and improve student learning and performance.
Standard 3 (Indicators 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4): This YouTube channel was created with a knowledge of learning principles and best practices. The video resources were selected based on learning principles and best practices so that they would optimize learning in the classroom. The videos and subscriptions were categorized for easy accessibility and to be shared in order to improve learning in specific topic areas.
Vlog with Closed Captioning:
Standard 1 (Indicators 1.1, 1.3, 1.4): I created a Vlog discussing the pros and cons of YouTube in education. In this Vlog, I evaluate how YouTube can be used effectively in the educational setting and also comment on its drawbacks.
Standard 2 (Indicators 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4): Using my knowledge of the field of education, I discuss how using YouTube can improve learning and performance outcomes for students. I also assess the negative aspects of using YouTube in an educational setting.
Standard 3 (Indicators 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6): This Vlog was created using research backed by educational principles and best practices made available from multiple resources. I discuss the pros and cons of YouTube in education with an emphasis on safety for students, how it can be used appropriately in an educational setting, and some of the negative effects of the open access that is offered on YouTube. Closed Captioning was added to this video so that those with hearing difficulties might still be able to obtain the necessary information being conveyed in the video.
Standard 5 (Indicator 5) Before creating this video and my commentary, I performed extensive reading and research in order to form my opinions.
Short Form Educational Video:
Standard 1 (Indicators 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4): I created a short educational video for my elementary computer students to help them master identifying the parts of the computer. This video was created using Powtoon.
Standard 2 (Indicators 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4): This video was created with the knowledge that my students have to master identifying the parts of the computer by the fifth grade. Using this video will enhance instruction rather than going over the information using a worksheet.
Standard 3 (Indicators 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6): This video was created with a knowledge of learning principles and best practices. By using this video each school year, students will learn through repetition. The media used in the video were found on the public domain and were properly cited. The video was closed captioned for hearing impaired students to be able to obtain the information presented.
Megan Apgar: EDTECH Learning Log 