Overview
is a website for sharing user-generated video. Registered users can upload video files, comment on and rate videos and interact with other users through YouTube's community tools. Users can create a video "response" to a video for ongoing dialogue and the site is used by several "vloggers" that create short blog-like videos on a periodic basis. Uploads are limited to videos that are no more than ten minutes in length and various types of user accounts can be created aimed at musicians, comedians and other specialized uses. Accounts are free and YouTube is advertiser supported.
Examples
Categories of videos at YouTube, such as Comedy, Entertainment, People & Blogs, etc.
Channels are groups of videos sorted by user
Community is a section of the site devoted to groups formed around interests or special events, such as video contests
Things to Consider
- YouTube accepts video files from most digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones in the WMV, AVI, MOV, and MPG file formats.
- Each uploaded video must be less than ten minutes in length.
- Videos are viewed using the Flash plug-in and may appear in a quality and resolution lower than the original file.
- Assigning students to create, upload or share videos with YouTube may fall under Federal student privacy regulations, since the work can be shared with the general public and is not stored on W&J College servers.
- YouTube was recently purchased by Google and the service may merge with Google Video; Google logins can be used at YouTube.
How does it work?
Videos can be uploaded to YouTube using a simple online form. Some software and hardware manufacturers are also adding the ability to products to upload video directly from an application (recent versions of iMovie) or device (video camera, cellphone). You can apply keywords and enter descriptions for videos so they can be easily searched by other YouTube users.
When viewing a page for a video, the site displays a brief line of HTML code that can be copied into your own web page, blog or even a Blackboard course site that can embed the video in the page. Videos from YouTube can also be viewed on devices such as cell phones; viewing of YouTube videos is also possible on television sets using the Apple TV set top box.
What do I need in order to use it?
- A web browser
- A finished video in AVI, MOV, MPG or WMV formats
Key Features
- A constantly expanding collection of user generated video
- Uses 'tags' and descriptions for easy searching
- Includes groups clustered around interests and other community tools
- Videos at the site can be "embedded" in your own web page, blog or Blackboard course site
Uses as an Instructional Technology
YouTube can be used in a course in several ways. Students can search through the site to find content related to course material. Users upload original works that are in a wide range of genres - personal diaries, short documentaries, humorous shorts or monologues or excerpts from other works. YouTube regularly removes content that is copyrighted, such as excerpts of commercial television programs and feature films or videos that contain copyrighted music. However, the site does contain a great deal of historical public domain material including government films, news reports, or early television programs and silent films.
Students could use YouTube to post original videos they create as part of a course assignment, particularly for engagement of the local community. Faculty should closely examine the site's policies and account privileges to design the activity so that students' rights to copyright on their own work and Federal regulations on student privacy are respected.
The content on this page was derived from webpages maintained by the Duke University Center for Instructional Technology
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