Hello everybody!
As you might have understood from the title of my post, I particularly appreciated the flexibility of YouTube. Of course it is the case with the mentioned tool but also with all the other fruitful resource materials we have been learning to exploit during the last few months!
The principle underlying these devices is the fact that you can take advantage of them whenever and wherever you need to! Precisely, they can be used on demand to meet your own learning requirements!
As for YouTube’s impact on language learning, there’s nothing really new to add! The concept of sharing is always under the spotlight and here there’s also the advantage of the videos, which can be much more enjoyable and involving! The greatest innovation consists in the fact that WE are the main protagonists! YouTube’s motto is self-evident:
As you might have understood from the title of my post, I particularly appreciated the flexibility of YouTube. Of course it is the case with the mentioned tool but also with all the other fruitful resource materials we have been learning to exploit during the last few months!
The principle underlying these devices is the fact that you can take advantage of them whenever and wherever you need to! Precisely, they can be used on demand to meet your own learning requirements!
As for YouTube’s impact on language learning, there’s nothing really new to add! The concept of sharing is always under the spotlight and here there’s also the advantage of the videos, which can be much more enjoyable and involving! The greatest innovation consists in the fact that WE are the main protagonists! YouTube’s motto is self-evident:
“Broadcast Yourself”!
Having a look at TeacherTube, I realised the existence of other potentialities, not only in the field of language learning, but also in the wider context of education. As a matter of fact, this section allows teachers to publish tutorial videos that can be used during lessons or even to share the result of their class projects with other schools/universities.
I would also like to spend a few words on the drawbacks of this remarkable tool…not to be the usual party pooper but just to underline the need for a clever use of it.
Recently, I’ve heard of some guys (idiots), who published a cell phone-made video showing their abuses at a disabled peer (there are lots of similar cases but I’m only mentioning the most recent one).
I know that they are just fools, that they don’t have to exert a negative influence on our enthusiasm towards the world of YouTube, that the mentioned video has been recalled and so on and so forth…but we should be aware of the fact that FREEDOM and POTENTIAL can sometimes reveal their drawbacks. All in all, we can benefit from the fact that Sarah created our own community in YouTube so that we can avoid unpredictable consequences…
9 commenti:
Hi Alessia!
I have just read your post and I have noticed we wrote more or less the same things. I also believe that YouTube can be a good tool to improve our English; watching videos is even more fun than just listening as you can see the faces of those who speak…You can understand much from their actions and expressions ;-)
I also had a look at TeacherTube and I must say it is quite interesting, there is a lot of material about language learning and other stuff. I guess the videos about “Bloglines” and “RSS feeds” Sarah put on our course blog are taken from there…But of course I might be wrong ;-)
You are perfectly right when you say this website can be used on demand, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection…But it is not always easy, let’s think for example about our peers who do not have broadband at home. When I was abroad I noticed that in some countries everyone has a high-speed connection, it is something like the telephone or the TV…Something you use regularly and you could not live without. Here in Italy it is not so widespread yet, I mean, I guess the majority of us do not use a slow connection but I know there are still some places where you cannot get broadband (like in small towns in the countryside). Working with technology is sometimes difficult if you are not so used to it; sometimes you want to do something and you cannot, or it simply does not work…And you do not understand WHY!!! Oh, I am SO annoyed when it happens to me! ;-)
You made a good point when you said YouTube has also its negative drawbacks, I also mentioned those stupid videos taken with mobile phones in my post. It is always the same old story, everything has its pros and cons, and sometimes a bad use of these tools can be very dangerous, especially for teenagers who are usually pretty influenced by fashion.
Ok, that’s all for now
See you soon
Hi Eleonora!
Thank you for your comment! I think you’re right when you said that technologies can also be frustrating. As a matter of fact, the main problem is the need to be constantly updated otherwise you’re sort of “left out”…and that’s unfair.
See you soon
Ale
Hi Alessia!
I agree with everything you said and I appritiate the nice way you put it. I think you have a great ability in writing!
As you said youtube and the other tools we were introduced to are all on demand. I don't want to repeat what Eleonora said but more stress the point that even though it is supposed to be on demand, we are still very dependant on the connection that is provided.
I have to say I was a bit shocked when I got here to Italy that internet and especially wifi is not very spread arounf yet. Right now I'm connected to a really slow connection so for example am not able to watch the videos at all.
So let's hope for the better..and not only for Italy but for the rest of the world..I'm thinking that with tools like teachertube big differences can be achieved in the educational problems in the world.
bye and see you on Monday!
P.S. I know this doesn't belong here at all but what was the thing with the letter today in Melchionda's class...? I'm still very ignorant conserning the Italian parts of his classes...:(
Dear Nina!
First of all, I just wanted to say that I really appreciated your comment even though you've been tooooooooo generous..Professor Melchionda won't absolutely be of the same opinion ;-)
Anyway...Thank you very much for your comment!
By the way, the letter he asked me to read in class (unfortunately in Italian) was just an email he sent to me to explain the topic we were supposed to discuss on Monday...:-)
I will tell you in details next time we meet.
Bye Bye
Love
Alessia
Hi Alessia,
thanks for the good things you wrote about my catastrophistic post! It really must take a big bunch of positive thinking to say something nice about my post, but you seem to have a lot of that in store and pretty much always manage to have a kind word, even for me! ;)
Seriously, I admire your hope and faith in people, the way you seem to be confident that somehow we'll make it through. I don't feel that way. Not frequently at least. Surely not we I see videos like that one about Web2.0 saying things like 'the Machine is us' or 'we are the Machine'. I totally refuse to even admit that possibility. I have to. I can't help it. That's pretty much what my blabberings were about, and I appreciated your efforts to see through them and come up with a pretty clear comment too.
There's just thing I might have not been clear about and you might have misundersttof, though.
That's the bit when you talk about me being willing to dismiss technology indiscriminately. It's the other way around, actually! I don't really blame techonology, I really absolve it, saying that it is a sort of monster because it reflects OUR monstrosity. I point the finger at US, and in particular at those who say we should blame technology: it's christal clear to me that you can't blame the creation for being what it is but rather the creator for making it that way.
Anyways, I agree with you when you say that Yes, we should rethink our lives. We certainly need to. I don't agree on the fact that we should do it because of technology and its influence on our lives...!
Well, see you!
Hi Alessia,
I totally agree with the others and really appreciated the fact that you pointed out even the negative facts about youtube. It is very frustrating to see how some people abuse this technology in order to humiliate others. Isn't that crazy they're even showing off doing those bad things? However, youtube is very useful for those who want to have some fun and maybe even learn a little English etc.
Though you might have read in my post I like the other tools like delicious and podcast much better in order to improove my language skills. Anyway it's always good for us to listen to something in English, whatever it is, right!?
See you soon.
Caroline
Hi Alessia!
I'm so sorry for the delay but I forgot my computer at home and didn't have time to come to the lab..sorry!
Reading your comment and the comments of our peers none of us had used Youtube as an "educative"tool to improve our English..:-)As you also said, it is not easy to use it in an educative way,I mean, it's so funny watch stupid videos...but we should try to find out useful and interesting videos!Furthermore Sarh had such a great idea to create a sort of community just for our class..this way we find easily useful links,isn't it?I also agree with you that watching videos is better than listen to podcasts!So,what to add!?Hope to have time to use Youtube for such useful opportunity!
To Enrico:
Dear Enrico,
thank you for writing. I don't think yor post is catastrophistic...I've found it really insightful (sorry for misunderstanding a part of it).
The whole thing is a rather controversial issue... I like to read what other people think, especially if their way of thinking differs from mine. As a matter of fact, I think your scepticism eally opened up new perspectives on the whole subject
See u
Alessia
I actually had not heard of TeacherTube before, so thanks!
The fact that content can be vetted or reviewed and removed (by the community) is a great feature which is shared by YouTube.
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