Thing #20 YouTube Comments

I find myself skipping around at this point and completing those assignments that interest me first.  I guess it is like making a list of things to do and including things you have already done so you can cross them off and feel like you have accomplished something.

Now on to YouTube...for those of you who don't know me well, I am crazy about Disney World and Wicked (thanks to our fearless leader, Mary, who first exposed me to the wonders of Wicked).  I have been to Disney (World or Land) six times in the last six years and have also seen Wicked six times in the last few years.  If you love musicals, you will absolutely love the story and music from this wonderful show.  I won't spend my whole blog discussing Wicked, because I am sure there are already blogs out on the internet about that topic.  When I had to choose a clip to embed into my blog and I first started "playing" around with YouTube it was only natural.

Holy cow this could be addictive!  Like so many I had limited experience with YouTube but was familiar with the site.  I had seen a clip at the Mavericks game of Dirk lip singing to a Rolling Stones song and when we wanted to see it again my first reaction was check YouTube.  Much to my dismay I did not find it.  My other experiences were watching clips friends and family sent along with searching for music videos.  I can really see how programs such as this can be addictive and you can easily loose hours of your day (or morning as this has become) just playing.

All that to say, YouTube can be a lot of fun but I am not sure I would turn Elementary students loose on the site to search for clips.  I can see using such YouTube or TeacherTube to find clips appropriate for school and sharing only those clips with my students.  The idea of having someone explain a math concept in an alternate way to struggling students is exciting.  I would have found such sites helpful when I taught Deaf Ed in Middle School and had to teach several subjects that were out of my comfort zone.  It would have helped me better understand some Science topics before I tried to teach it to my kids.

While I must admit I have spent the last few days "playing" with this site and looking up fun things, it has been enlightening to know it is not all just funny clips and silly things but there really are educational tools on such sites.