Tuning in to My Channel

My theme this weekend is YouTube. Specifically how to make the best use of YouTube videos in the classroom. Did you see the announcement of YouTube Teachers? I spent an hour or two clicking through all the links on the Teachers’ page, joining up (to see what develops), following the advice on setting up my own Channel, reading other bits and pieces.

Things I learnt:

I have created a playlist of videos about Pete the Cat videos (see end of post), and plan to spend some more time learning how to value-add to playlists.

Why this sudden video-awareness? It was the combination of showing Pete the Cat on the IWB to my Prep class and reading about the new YouTube Teachers initiative, all on the same day. I feel that I haven’t made much effort up till now to explore the possibilities of linking hands-on reading experiences with online variations – partly due to lack of equipment, partly due to just not getting around to it. For children growing up with so much of their lives linked to television or computer screens, it is not hard to understand their desire to see the animation or video of a story. I would like to spend some time thinking about how to match videos and reading in order to bring a richer experience of story to my students. So many books have complementary videos, songs and websites now that I could find myself guilty of negligence if I do not find ways to weave different media together when exploring a theme, or books by a particular author or illustrator.

So far I am talking only about videos etc to support the reading of storybooks – partly because it was on my mind this week, partly because there is so much information already out there (and indeed in the 10 Tips section of YT Teachers) on using a variety of formats to enhance teaching and learning activities. For instance I took a brief look at Charlie and Lola online, but didn’t find much of value – I need to investigate and see what else is there before reading a story to my students.

So, I shall leave it at that with the intention of exploring further ways to mingle traditional print media with online resources to create a more varied and enticing world of story for my students.

To send you on your way with a smile on your face and a song on your lips, I give you Pete the Cat and his White Shoes!