So many articles have focused on teachers branding themselves in a positive light. We speak on a daily basis to students about branding themselves in a professional manner on the web. A FREE and easy method of positively branding your classroom and all that happens on a daily basis is a YouTube Channel.
For me, it started with the idea that I would document everything that happens in my journey with iPads in my classroom. While I like typing and certainly appreciate my 11th grade teacher teaching me the home row in typing class, I can't type fast enough to document everything.
My solution! Use the iPad2 camera and a YouTube account. (Signing in is so easy if you are a GAFE school or have a personal Gmail account) Having this option has allowed me to post less than three minute videos in such a short time. The great thing for me is that it is quick. See how I exactly do it:
Problem: I don't have an iPad! If this is you, consider using your Smartphone. Android services (yes, I said the competitor on this blog) on a Smartphone make it quite easy to upload a video to YouTube. See how this can be done.
Once you have decided to take the plunge, set up your YouTube channel. I don't have time to create all of these, so I used a pretty decent series by the manager of the link above.
My Settings:
- I have connected with our classroom blog and Twitter account
- I have included Playlists that are educationally based and used in our classroom
- I have created a featured video section on the front page-this rocks
- I NEVER state a students name while filming them
- I try to keep the video less than three minutes
- Lately, I have started to include students describing steps in tech teaching-it is amazing how much more students listen to themselves and classmates when learning something new.
One Final Obstacle: My school & district block YouTube!!! If you have the desire, take my channel and show administrators, school board members, and anyone else that wants to listen and show how it can positively reflect on your school district. I know that tech support can choose to allow certain YouTube sites to be unblocked. Have them make your YouTube channel the one! If that doesn't work, take the video and upload it at home.
There truly is no reason, that you can't create a YouTube channel with a small goal of posting 1 video a week. I get the fact that I may be overboard by posting 428 videos in less five months, but so many community members, administrators, teachers, students, and parents appreciate seeing the many positive educational experiences occurring daily in our classroom.
I would certainly welcome any feedback on this concept and other examples of educational classrooms that are utilizing this FREE method of promotion!
