The Value of E-Learning with YouTube: Video Sharing for Education

YouTube is here to stay, in many ways beyond its social networking debut. The YouTube generation has been coined as the group of internet users who are making use of today's technology of video sharing with the ease of personal video uploading. Vblogs are an offshoot of this group, allowing users to blog their lives and experiences in writing, and accompany the whole package with a video rendition of their travels. Video sharing is exploding into a variety of industries, including mass media advertising and music. From local bands, freelance journalists, and consume group rallies, everyone has a chance of getting their message across as creatively and collectively as possible.

Students who use YouTube and other social networking sites today, are not only bombarded with friends' messages and links, but also the rise in advertising and media-sponsored videos. The LonelyGirl15 debacle only points out further the low threshold of reality vs. media-delivered viral campaigns. However, there is still potential for YouTube and other video sharing sites such as Microsoft's Soapbox, to play a positive role in education.

Video sharing with classmates on the social front is easy, fun, and rising in participation. Education using multimedia and other visual aids has always been a strengthening component of many subjects' curriculum, and today's educators are taking steps to incorporate the Internet and media-based tools to improve participation and learning. Still, video sharing on a small scale could prove to have multiple benefits.

Class projects that involve presentations or directions on how to do something could be enhanced with video uploading. Imagine completing a video project with classmates, uploading to a site, and linking the site to the class's portal for everyone to view, share, and rate based on the topic. It would be a great way to collaborate and provide 'live' feedback on ongoing projects; businesses do this today with a variety of online collaboration tools, and teachers can make use of this process to their advantage.

Homework lessons and projects that are teacher-endorsed 'clips', available online, could further help students stay in touch and stay attuned to progress in a class. A simple instructional video or step-by-step guide, available to students on a short video clip has potential to keep them on track and motivated to learn more. They are engaging in learning with a multimedia format that they are comfortable and familiar with.

Video sharing in education can have multiple benefits for both educators and students. Responsibility and ethics with internet use are certainly factors that play a strong role in making the best of today's technology; the rise in porn sites and the dangers of cyberspace cannot be overlooked. However, there is great potential for educators to create effective policies and allow students to participate in a positive and productive way.