I looked for two videos in YouTube that I could use in my course. The first was an impressive demonstration of dehydration of table sugar by sulfuric acid. The second was about the effect of catalysts on the rates of chemical reactions. As a “how-to” I discovered how to make a quiche. But the one I selected for fun involves the unique application of “empty” calories and no calories at all.
Video by EepyBird.com production
I went to TeacherTube and queried the same topics. I only got one video, literally, on the topics I selected. That particular video was pretty ho-hum. Okay, TeacherTube has only been up and running for just over two years. And its subscriber base is somewhat limited. Like what kid is going to go voluntarily to something with the word teacher in it.
Would I, in the near future, make a contribution to TeacherTube. No. Does Teacher need quality contributions? Yes. So why am I so reluctant. First, I look fat when filmed – let me re-phase that – I look fatter. Second, to do such a project I would need a spark of creativity but I’m afraind that my pink bunny is stone cold dead. Now, if this were an inter-discplininary project, like with an English or creative writing class, I could see definite possibilities.
I have yet a third reason for hesitancy. YouTube is passive; watching other involved in an event. As a advocate of inquiry/discovery, I want my students doing the deed, not watch slack jawed. Also this is yet another symptom of the alienation of real interaction between people engendered by the reliance of virtual world communication. Rick Springfield expressed it much better than I. Please click on link to here what he has to say. (YouTube has denied embedding.)
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April 28th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I SO agree with much of what you said. Teacher Tube is not so great yet – you made a good point about the amount of time it’s been around though. And videos are so passive, and in science the students must be up and about and actively doing things. And thanks for the memories – I was a Rick Springfield fan in the 80’s – had that song on cassette tape.