Web 2.0 in the Classroom

           The transformative effect of Web 2.0 is evident in classrooms across the United States and Gabriela Grosseck (2009) indicates, "Web 2.0 platforms are seen to have an emerging role to transform teaching and learning" (p. 478).  Teachers rely on Web 2.0 technology for daily classroom use. Blogs, wikis, podcasts, media-sharing, and social networking sites are vital to today’s classrooms.  Some benefits of Web 2.0 include “sharing accumulated experiences” and “creating digital content (especially media, podcasting, videocasting” (p. 480).  Today’s technologically savvy students enjoy collaborating through Web 2.0 platforms.

Podcasting and video sites such as Google Video and YouTube have been popular for showing, recording, and sharing videos related to content to students, parents, and larger audiences. There are many resources available on these sites. For music education, I use Google Video and YouTube as a tool for students to hear and see instruments from various countries, to listen to performances of symphonies and opera companies, and to hear ensembles of peers their age. We can also upload videos of our performances for family members to enjoy.

While there are many benefits to these websites, I have some concerns regarding their use in the classroom. Unfortunately, it is hard to monitor other videos that are shown in the side bar. I have had problems with inappropriate videos popping up in conjunction with Classical music videos when viewing the videos at home. Thus, I typically copy the link and access the video from Smart Notebook or PowerPoint during class. Also, there are generally advertisements that pop-up prior to showing a video or even during the middle of a video. This is annoying. Some schools block these sites, but you can often download videos for use during a lesson.

When uploading a video of student performances, it is important to have parental permission. If permission is given, I suggest blocking the comment section. I have seen many unnecessary comments posted beneath videos.

            Perusing through TeacherTube today reminded why I do not use it in my instruction. It is extremely slow and it took me a long time to access each video. Also, even though I know the content is generally safe, I was not impressed with the quality of the videos I viewed. Discovery Streaming is a much better resource in my opinion. I do not plan on integrating TeacherTube in my instruction when there are many more high quality videos available from Discovery Streaming that can be easily accessed at school.

Grosseck, G. (2009). To use or not to use web 2.0 in higher education? Procedia Social

and Behavioral Sciences, 1, pp. 477-482. Retrieved from

http://webpages.csus.edu/~sac43949/pdfs/to%20use%20or%20not%20to%20use.pdf