So, I'll make this explaination quick . . . last quarter I was enrolled in EDU T&L 656, Literature for Adolescents. We read a book by author, John Green, a very prominent figure in Young Adult fiction. Anyways, I ended up writing a paper on his works, which eventually led me to check out his website http://www.sparksflyup.com/. While there, I found out about a project he was working on with his brother, Hank Green. The two brothers, who rarely see each other in person, made the decision not to communicate except through video blogs (vlogs) for an entire year . . . all while the rest of the world watched via YouTube. The project is named Brotherhood 2.0 -- you can learn more specifically about it here at http://nerdfighters.ning.com/.
It all sounds sort of goofy -- and I was really skeptical when my professor first informed me of it, but then I began watching just a few of these vlogs and was immediately hooked on the humor and intellect of these two very successful men. They have thousands of followers on their channel, and millions of hits on various vlogs. These brothers are using this form of technology to influences a tremendously huge audience. The definition of a vlog is, in the most simplest form, a video blog, which would be posted to a site available to the masses for viewing purposes. While "vlogging" is nothing new, we rarely see it used in this form . . . for the most part we do not sit down to watch videos on YouTube to become educated, it's main purpose has always been entertainment.
However, true as that may be, I think that teachers should consider tapping into this unused resource. The vast majority of high school students have frequented YouTube at least once in their lifetime. If a teacher can create a type of vlog that is both interactive, engaging, and possibly even humorous they might be able to find another outside-the-classroom connection with their students. They could also potentially have students create vlogs of their own. This idea is very similar to what we are doing here, just taken one step further. If utilized properly, I believe the benefits of this type of technology could take classroom learning to entirely new level.
It all sounds sort of goofy -- and I was really skeptical when my professor first informed me of it, but then I began watching just a few of these vlogs and was immediately hooked on the humor and intellect of these two very successful men. They have thousands of followers on their channel, and millions of hits on various vlogs. These brothers are using this form of technology to influences a tremendously huge audience. The definition of a vlog is, in the most simplest form, a video blog, which would be posted to a site available to the masses for viewing purposes. While "vlogging" is nothing new, we rarely see it used in this form . . . for the most part we do not sit down to watch videos on YouTube to become educated, it's main purpose has always been entertainment.
However, true as that may be, I think that teachers should consider tapping into this unused resource. The vast majority of high school students have frequented YouTube at least once in their lifetime. If a teacher can create a type of vlog that is both interactive, engaging, and possibly even humorous they might be able to find another outside-the-classroom connection with their students. They could also potentially have students create vlogs of their own. This idea is very similar to what we are doing here, just taken one step further. If utilized properly, I believe the benefits of this type of technology could take classroom learning to entirely new level.
No comments:
Post a Comment