YouTube is much more than cute cats doing adorable things. It is an amazing mix of creativity and education that is changing the way we learn and see the world. And yes, it is also giving us hours of cute catness to look at!
This post will look at a variety of examples of YouTube, both entertainment and educational samples and see just what is out there and try to see why they are popular or not. We will then discuss how to best use these in the class to avoid overdoing it and to find that right mix of use! Some of the choices show creative methods that can be copied even though they are designed for entertainment.
Khan Academy
https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy
This is a series of videos with huge variety of educational uses and topics. This non-profit organization is intent on helping us all find and use educational material for free. There are so many videos that may be of use, it is highly suggested that you see what might work for you!
Crash Course
https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse
These videos are short, to the point, funny and great for many uses in a classroom. They show a style of creating a video that can be copied in a variety of uses. Please take a look at several that interest you and see what you think! How can you use this in your class?
Weird Al
Weird Al has been a laugh for 3 decades, but did you know he was an Engineer? He is and he has some smarts too! This video is fantastic at using humor to explain to students some simple English Grammar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc
This next video is an excellent one at calling out many modern actions (Facebooking your food, etc…) and can help students to see what something might look like to others. It is a great starter to a paper, etc…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq7Eki5EZ8o
Jeremy Jahns
Jeremy Jahns has 900,000 subscribers who love his style of movie reviews. There are two distinct videos here. The first is a typical review that he does (warning, a few cuss words may exist) and you can see that he keeps it short, to the point and uses JUMP CUTS to keep it moving. Jump cuts are when you cut down a long video into a short one removing almost all of the spaces between thoughts. You will also see the use of images and so much more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpDNVEqgCDg
This next one is a bit silly but it is a taped reaction of him watching the new Star Wars trailer for the first time. Just watch his face, it shows how he turns from a critic to a little boy in love with Star Wars! It shows how honesty and emotion can bring us into it with them. My fiance hates Star Wars and dislikes Jeremy Jahns (his quick talking aggravates her) but now she likes him and can’t wait to see Star Wars…why?…his honesty and real emotions made her relate to him in a way that his fast talking didn’t, and now she gives him the benefit of the doubt and sees his other videos in a different light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbg0zRA5RtI
CinemaSins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdU7xk8TISk
These guys are sarcastic movie fans who rip on movies that they hate or like, they don’t play favorites. They are silly, irreverent, and are a great example of creating writing and how information can be presented. They have 5 million subscribers and are a huge force with a new book and video game being produced by one of the creators being advertised through the popularity of the channel. Can you imagine 5 million people seeing your ad for your home-made novel? Can you also imagine students making similar videos pointing out “sins” or some other comments on clips of world events or any topic? I have even used their music and formatting for several of my video tips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gUGaeRrB6Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbCdLy_mgBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spor2zESM_4
There is so much to YouTube and to using videos in a classroom. This post is about style and what works in getting a huge amount of followers. If people want to watch those videos, perhaps they would want to create similar ones in projects or view similar ones that have to do with your topic. The possibilities are open!
