My Top Ten YouTube Channels for Education

This post is cross-posted at the Tech Learning Advisor Blog. 

Online video is where it is at, in my opinion. I've always believed in the notion of supporting learning in and outside of the classroom. YouTube Channels- whether a personal teacher channel- or one of the many educational organization's channels, really places learning in the 21st Century. As a supplement to my You-Tilizing YouTube in the Classroom post and presentation, I'd like to list my top ten YouTube Channels for Education. Here they are:

10. National Geographic: http://www.youtube.com/nationalgeographic   

While this channel does have advertisements, it has entire programs, like this, one of my favorites: Secrets of the Titanic. 

9. RSA Animate: 21st Century Enlightenment: http://www.youtube.com/theRSAorg

The Ultimate Mind Map! Taking my favorite thinkers like Dan Pink and Sir Ken Robinson and putting their ideas down in this way really "Drives" home their points. 

8. Symphony of Science: http://www.youtube.com/melodysheep

I showed these videos to my students, and they demanded that their science teacher play them for everyone to see. Just listening to Carl Sagan "sing" makes me feel like I'm getting smarter. 

7. This Week in Tech: http://www.youtube.com/twit

For an educator who wants to stay up on all the day's and week's tech news, this is the place to be. And, again, these are the full broadcasts. 

6.  Khan Academy: http://youtube.com/khanacademy 

While I do criticize this channel for being less engaging than it could be, I love the idea of getting learning online and in the open where it should be. 

5. Woods Hole: http://www.youtube.com/WoodsHoleOceanInst  

In another life, I was a marine biologist . My love for the Titanic and for snorkeling has helped me keep a keen eye on Woods Hole and Dr. Robert Ballard's work. 

4. NASA: http://www.youtube.com/NASAtelevision 

What could be more engaging than watching the Space Shuttle take off from a POV camera in High Definition going into space? 

3: NOVA: http://www.youtube.com/NOVAonline  

Growing up in the era of the Space Shuttle, watching NOVA was a requirement. 

2.  The Computer History Museum: http://www.youtube.com/ComputerHistory  

I'm in love with technology history, and this channel really feeds that fire. 

1. TED Talks: http://www.youtube.com/TEDtalksDirector 

The number one channel for the life-long learner. Period. 

Click. Enjoy. Learn! 

YouTube in the Classroom

This week I presented at ICE- Indiana. I previously shared a screencast of my YouTube in the Classroom video. Here is the full presentation for which that screencast was based. It's been a week full of YouTube! I met a handful of educators eager to push to get YouTube unblocked at their schools, or at least managed with filters a little better. There was a lot of good discussion around the benefits of the educational content available on YouTube and the possibility of creating content and controlling the experience for students. It was all good to hear.

This was also the first time I used Prezi. It was a bit of a learning curve (it takes time!), but I was pleased with the final outcome. I was hoping that the resolution on some of the images was a little better- it seemed Prezi reduces the image quality a bit. Enjoy!

You-tilizing YouTube in the Classroom

This week I'll be presenting at the Indiana Computing Educators Conference in Indianapolis, IN on 10/15/2010. I'll be presenting a session entitled You-tilizing YouTube in the Classroom. Here is a handy-dandy tutorial I created for that, on how to use YouTube safely with your students.  Enjoy!

YouTube should not be blocked: here's why

Last week I presented at an Illinois Computing Educators mini conference, and I was surprised (aghast!) that the school I was presenting at- had YouTube blocked.

The videos that I had ready to show wouldn't play, and it just didn't occur to me that YouTube would be blocked. I'm spoiled by my own school, I know. The folks in my sessions said things like, "oh, our school has it blocked too. It's really frustrating!" And my first question is- why? (it's rhetorical)

First of all, there are many worse sites that a kid could go to and subvert the school's Sonicwall filter, if they are that persistent. Seems to me YouTube gets the bad rap because it is the most popular, and some school admins watch a lot of Dateline NBC. Some teachers were happy with the block; they say that they go to YouTube, use a tool to download the videos, and they play them from Quicktime. Seems like a lot of extra work to me, and the kids miss something in that process. 

My problem with that, is that YouTube channels are becoming more of an "experience," very much like a museum trip or an historical journey. 


If you're a school district administrator, and YouTube is blocked in your district, I know why you did it, but it's time to take it off. YouTube and video sharing are not the Dateline NBC headline anymore. It's not what it was. It's not what it used to be, and it's time to teach kids how to use the tool responsibly. That's called digital citizenship, and it's part of their technology standards. YouTube is now old hat.

Here's why YouTube shouldn't be blocked. (click on the image below).

Also, check out the NASA Channel. So much potential!