The Impact of YouTube on Education: Is YouTube ready for it’s close-up?

Abstract:

The traffic statistics for YouTube are staggering. With over 60 hours of video uploaded every minute, or one hour of video uploaded to YouTube every second and over 800 million unique visitors a month. (Statistics, n.d.). It is likely that YouTube will be a force in education in the future with more and more schools gaining access to the Internet. Although there are a wide variety of digital tools that will impact education technology, my paper will highlight the use of YouTube to assist instructors and help students learn more. This paper will explain how YouTube can benefit the student by allowing them to learn at their own pace and have more one-on-one time with the instructor to create more of a mentor/mentee relationship. As a photography instructor myself, I will also explain how it worked for me in my Los Angeles camera club.

Introducing YouTube:

Recently at Florida International University Professor, David Wernick was trying to come up with new ways to keep his student management class sharp and ready to learn skills that would help students be competitive in the job market upon graduation.
The class featured regular group debates about business trends, ethics and historical controversies. Students listened to opponents' opening arguments and then had to craft a rebuttal
A new way of teaching the same subject matter, Wernick decided, would be to have the teams video introductions and opening arguments and post them on YouTube for their opponents to watch. The opponents would then have time to craft a thought-out response before class met the next day. This allowed not only more thought out arguments the next day, but also more time for the teachers to critique the students (Cardine, 2008).
In high school and middle school, a small group of teachers nationwide is replacing in-class lectures with short online videos that students watch at home. This flip-flop of homework and lecture — from which the model gets its name, the “flipped classroom” — leaves class time open for students to complete their assignments with their teacher standing by to offer one-on-one help.
The Indiana Department of Education wants to see if the model can work and John Keller the assistant superintendent for technology says, “we’ve heard about kids powering down when they come to school, and so any model that has a potential for increased engagement, for the relevance of school to increase for kids, I think that’s something that demands a second look.” (Stokes, 2011)
The education community has a responsibility to properly prepare students for the technological world. Mullen & Wedwick writes that “because NCLB states that every student should be technologically literate by the eighth grade, schools must focus their efforts on bridging the gap between the traditional definition of literacy and technologies” (cited by Witte, 2007). Being literate no longer only involves being able to read and write. The literate of the twenty-first century must be able to download, upload, rip, burn, chat, save, blog, Skype, IM, and share. (Mullen & Wedwick, 2008).
Troy Cockrum, a middle school English teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas in Indianapolis decided to flip two of his classes. He posts five-minute lectures he records at home to his YouTube page, instructing students how to write a five-paragraph essay. The dynamics of the class have changed in several ways. Students can watch the lectures at their own pace and then Cockrum is available to help students individually during class. “Most people go into it thinking the biggest part is making the videos. But really, the biggest part is what you do with your class time now that you have that free time,” Cockrum says. (Stokes, 2008).
Andre Mercer teaches music in Canada and also via the Internet to high school students living in rural and isolated communities of Newfoundland and Labrador. He explains that YouTube also serves as a supplemental tool. “I’ll look that up on YouTube later,” is a comment often heard by his students as they touch on different musical topics. (Mercer, pg. 43, 2011).
At another high school in San Diego, Martin Casas teaches advanced placement history and freshman geography. Casas has helped prepare students for college placement tests by asking them to view two video clips and answer questions based on the synthesis of both. "They're responding to something more dynamic when they see a video clip," he added. "They're more involved and excited with the material." (Cardine, 2011)
YouTube has been included in a recent Web site banning trend among many school districts. There are highly inappropriate videos available on the site. Instead of eliminating this resource from the education community, administrators, teachers, and students need to be taught how to use this valuable tool. (Mullen & Wedwick p. 66, 2008).


YouTube In Action:

I am a part-time photography instructor at local camera store in Westwood, California. I work with individuals who have just bought a high-end camera and show them how it works and what lenses to use. I have also created a photography club called Street Safari Saturdays. The main focus of my club is to discuss a topic of photography and then go to a specific destination in Los Angeles and implement what I’ve discussed at our meeting. Last week, I decided to try something new. I have 56 participants in my club and prior to our meeting at my studio I created a YouTube video regarding the topic that I wanted everyone to focus on. My video was about three minutes long and the topic was depth-of-field.

All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up:

When I first set up the camera in my studio I found myself getting a little nervous about how I was going to present my topic. I had my notes in my hand and after the third take I felt satisfied with my performance. During the editing process, I was able to put in a few examples of depth-of-field that emphasized what works in a good depth-of-field photograph and why. Uploading the video was a lot easier than I thought it would be and YouTube makes it easy for anyone to create a channel. I sent out an e-mail to everyone in the club and I also asked all participants to send me any photos that they liked that showed good examples of depth-of-field and why they liked it. This was the first time I asked them to write their opinions in an e-mail as to what about a photo they did or didn’t like before we met at a location.
Our meeting place last Saturday was the Griffith Park Observatory. This is an iconic landmark in Silverlake and very photogenic and has been used in many movies; the most notorious is the James Dean/Natalie Wood masterpiece, “Rebel Without a Cause.” Almost immediately, we were able to start talking about depth-of-field. Of the eighteen participants who attended, only one person was not able to watch the video because her Internet access was down and she was unable to get to another computer to watch the video. Everyone else said they watched the video and the comments were mostly positive. There are many DVDs that explain depth-of-field and how to use it but they’re very long and tedious to watch. What my students appreciated about was my video was that it was only about three minutes long and then we were going to meet to discuss the topic more when we were on location. I was also told that because they knew me, it was much easier to watch then just someone they had randomly found on YouTube explaining depth-of-field. The most positive thing that came from the YouTube instruction was that my students already had a basic understanding of depth-of-field and when we were on location I was able to work one-on-one and refer to the video. And the last and I feel the most important result from my YouTube instruction was there were many members who were not able to make my photo shoot at Griffith Park and they still participated. I thought this was the best part about the video – even though they were unable to come to the shoot, many members sent me examples of photos that they took after hearing my explanation.

Conclusion:

It used to be that the quality of video was terrible and using video technology for instructional purposes was a disaster because students paid more attention to the quality of the video rather than the information being presented. However, the quality is no more an issue and YouTube now supports High Definition (HD) video so anyone can produce broadcast quality videos. Also, thanks to reality TV most people are used to the camera shaking or things not being scripted and I have found my students actually prefer it. I don’t think technology or YouTube will ever take the place of a good teacher and teachers will have to create their own videos to supplement their lessons. YouTube and the Internet are not going away and to be a successful teacher and have more engaged students - technology and YouTube needs to be embraced. (Pros and Cons of You Tube, n.d.).


References

Pros and Cons of YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.surfnetkids.com/go/safety/170/pros-and-cons-of-youtube/

Mercer, A. (2011). The Educational Uses of YouTube. Canadian Music Educator / Musicien Educateur Au Canada, 52(3), 42-43.

Mullen, R., & Wedwick, L. (2008). Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with YouTube, Digital Stories, and Blogs. Clearing House, 82(2), 66-69.

Retrieved from: http://www.surfnetkids.com/go/safety/170/pros-and-cons-of-youtube/

Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics

Stokes, K. (2011). How YouTube Is Changing The Classroom. Retrieved from: http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/10/12/how-youtube-is-changing-the-classroom/

Cardine, S. (2008). Is Education Ready For YouTube? Retrieved from: http://www.convergemag.com/edtech/Is-Education-Ready-For-YouTube.html

Interpersonal Relationships And Computer Mediated Communication

Think back to when you first met someone who you are close to now. What first made you attracted to that them? Was it their physical looks or their personality? If you are married, think of your spouse. How did you connect?
In the branch of social psychology, there are many theories and principles that illustrate why certain people "fall in love" with each other or why certain people interact and become friends. Now just for minute, think about only meeting people online. How would you construct yourself?

According to the interpersonal attraction principle, social psychologists have identified several major factors that influence interpersonal attraction, which is anything, that draws two or more people together characterized by affection, respect, liking, or love (“Interpersonal Attraction”, 2012). In the initial attraction of two people, what matters first? Many factors leading to interpersonal attraction have been studied. The most frequently studied are: physical attractiveness, propinquity, responsiveness similarity and reciprocal liking (“Interpersonal Attraction”, 2012). According to these five factors, we like those who live or work near us (propinquity), we like those who are physically attractive (physical attractiveness) and similar to us (similarity), we like those who are responsive to us (responsiveness) and we like those who like us (reciprocal liking).

Has social media helped or hurt interpersonal relationships? Computer mediated communication allows people to make new friends without geographical boundaries where people can have ongoing, fast-moving conversations, regardless of their physical location, schedules, or other constraints. Social media is changing our relationships because it allows for us to connect with more people more rapidly. As Chenault affirms, “CMC becomes a new way to “find” each other, a way for personal relationships to build”. In my personal experience, I have met many people from online dating site to online classes. Ten years ago, that would have never happened. Not only has it become more mainstream and acceptable, I believe it has become the new “normal” way to meet friends. I also am a photographer and there are many sites I go to and discuss everything from new cameras to different locales in the world for photography. Some of the people I have never met and others I have gone on vacation with and we have become very good friends.

However, it can be argued that making friends online is not a good idea. In order to have a positive experience meeting online, there has to be an element of trust. But how can you spot an Internet liar? According to Dr. Jeff Hancock (Communications, Cornel; Director, Computer-Mediated Communications Research Laboratory) “People tend to lie a lot in their profiles - everybody. And what we looked at were things like height and weight and age, so body and age things. And we also looked at income and status. But we found that men tend to lie about their height, and they would do what I call a strong round up. So, if they achieve an inch, they'll add another inch. So, 5'9" and one-tenth, they'll go up to 5'10". Women tend to lie about their weight.” (“Spotting the Internet ‘Liar’”, 2008). Hancock affirms that men and women usually don’t lie about their age. Another way to spot an Internet liar is there is a reduction in first-person references. Dr. Hancock explains, “So that's when people talk about themselves. So if I were to say I came to New York yesterday, maybe that would be truthful. And if I said something like got into New York yesterday. Now, you can see I dropped the first person singular there - the I. And that's related to when people tend to be deceptive”. (“Spotting the Internet ‘Liar’”, 2008).

Many people turn to the Internet in order to manage unpleasant feelings such as stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. When you have a bad day and are looking for a way to escape your problems or to quickly relieve stress or self-soothe, the Internet can be an easily accessible outlet. Losing yourself online can temporarily make feelings such as loneliness; stress, anxiety, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air. As much comfort as the Internet can provide, though, it’s important to remember that there are healthier (and more effective) ways to keep difficult feelings in check. (“Internet Addiction. Signs, Symptoms, Treatment, and Self-Help “. 2012).

Some psychologists have identified a new Internet addiction category called Facebook Addiction Disorder. (Haisha, 2010). Many people are spending over twenty hours a week on Facebook and disguising it as work, or networking when in fact they are hiding their loneliness. Also, there’s another more susceptible contagion effect of social media and that is loneliness is transmitted via social networks. John Cacioppo, a researcher, at the University of Chicago finds that if a direct connection of yours is lonely, you are 52% more likely to be lonely (Jain, 2010). It’s important to know that as you become more networked and involved with each other, it’s going to be crucial to monitor your own influences and reactions.

Computer mediated communication and online friends are a way of life now. There’s no turning back and the most important part is to realize that it’s a part of our everyday experience and just like anything else it demands moderation and good judgment.


References

Interpersonal attraction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2012. Retrieved from
Wiki: http://216.22.10.76/wiki/Interpersonal_Attraction

B. G. Chenault, Developing personal and emotional relationships via computer-mediated
communication, CMC Magazine 5 (1998) on-line:
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1998/may/chenault.html.

Stewart, A. (Interviewer) & Hancock, J. (Interviewee). (2008). Spotting the Internet ‘Liar’. (Interview Transcript). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19157882

Internet addiction. Signs, symptoms, treatment, and self-help. (n.d.) Retrieved February 9, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm

Jain, R. (2010, June 10). 4 ways social media is changing your relationships. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-social-media-is -changing-your-relationships/
Haisha, L. (April 13, 2010) Is your facebook addiction a sign of loneliness? Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-haisha/is-your facebook- addictio_b_533530.html

The Role of Anonymity in CMC

How has the role of anonymity impacted computer mediated communication?

There have been many times I have written an e-mail to a person or sent a text message to a co-worker that I would have never said to their face. I felt uninhibited because I was anonymous. I wasn’t standing in front of them. The e-mail or text wasn’t rude or offensive. Sometimes it was just an idea or information that might benefit the project. Has the use of computer mediated communication altered my personality? Have I become more creative and less inhibited?


According to dictionary.com, anonymous is defined as without any name acknowledged, as that of author, contributor, or the like. Well, in my case the recipient knew exactly who it was from. But anonymous defined by the dictionary and how it is used for academic purposes are much different. According to Thurlow, Lengel & Tomic, because there is visual anonymity, it doesn’t mean they are unidentifiable. Being or feeling anonymous can make people feel less inhibited and there are different ways of looking at this in CMC. There’s the more positive freedom from constraints and there’s the more negative freedom from responsibility.

When a person feels anonymous and they are familiar with computers, they are more likely to find CMC less inhibiting and more likely to treat the medium as a normal form of social interaction (Kerr and Hiltz, 1982). And as technology becomes easier to use and different technologies become accessible to more users of CMC will feel even less inhibited.

Studies have shown that shy people have been able to express themselves more on CMC because of the perceived anonymity. Most people think that disinhibitive behavior is directly related to rude or offensive behavior. Dictionary.com defines disinhibition as (1) loss of inhibition, as through the influence of external stimuli such as drugs or alcohol, or as a result of brain damage and (2) Unrestrained behavior resulting from a lessening or loss of inhibitions or a disregard of cultural constraints. Disinhibitive behavior is not limited to only rude or offensive interaction. Users of computer-mediated communication systems can express informational disinhibition, becoming more connected with people who share common interests but with whom they would otherwise be unacquainted (Rice and Love, 1987).

Diane Gordon was an assistant to an executive at a reputable PR agency in Hollywood. Diane is shy and conservative and she loves television. She would go home at night and watch television and the next day would send an e-mail to her friends giving a synopsis and review of the previous nights shows. Her reviews are never too critical or negative. Her friends would forward the e-mail to their friends and soon she had an e-mail list of over eight hundred Hollywood executives. Diane came to me about 4 years ago and asked me to create a blog for her. It’s called www.thesurfreport.biz. I created the logo and showed her how to use the blog. Diane has written reviews for Rolling Stone and has been quoted in the New York Times Television section.

Initially, Diane’s e-mails were almost anonymous as defined by Thurlow, Lengel & Tomic. Diane benefited from the freedom of constraints of the internet. Twenty years ago, Diane would have to be a television critic for a newspaper or newscast to ever reach an audience. Diane also realizes that she has a responsibility and she stays away from being negative and condescending.

Most users of CMC think of anonymous as some terrible wiki person who hacks government websites and leaks top secret information to the masses. But isn’t everyone anonymous when they sent an e-mail or when they post a message in a chat room?


Thurlow, C. & Lengel, L. & Tomic, A. (2004) Computer Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet. London: SAGE.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disinhibition
Kerr, E. B. and Hiltz, S. R. (1982) "Computer Mediated Communication Systems: Status and Evaluation," Academic Press: New York
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anonymous
Rice, R. E. & Love, G. (1987). Communication Research, 14, 85-108.
http://thesurfreport.biz