I saw this article in the Huffington Post about a teacher named Rob Tarrou who makes great YouTube videos that show him teaching math and how these videos have become popular.
From the moment I started reading this article I was amazed. I loved the title, “Chalk talk” and how he is literally using a chalk board and doing math examples. It was easy to see that this teacher had a lot of passion for teaching math. What teacher would upload videos of themselves teaching math for students who miss school? I’ll tell you-passionate teachers! He isn’t doing this to make a profit. He seems to do this because he loves to teach.
Then I decided to watch a video and see what they were like. I like how he introduces himself in the video. He likes wearing a silly shirt or jumping into the video. The article says how he has been getting views on his videos from all over the world and how they seem to help many people.
The article mentions how this is an example of a “flipped classroom” and discusses some negatives of the flipped classroom. If you do not know what a flipped classroom is, it is when a student watches videos like the ones this where a teacher is giving instruction at home and at school assignments, tests, and labs are completed. The negatives it mentions are that it is not the same as hands on instruction and it seems only possible in communities where every student has a computer.
I think that if a teacher is uploading themselves teaching a lesson, they have to think about its purpose. Is it for a few students who want to watch a video at home for extra help? Or is it for all students who are learning in a flipped classroom? I think that the purpose determines the content of the video and how the video is portrayed.
Mr. Tarrou is currently not using a flipped classroom, but I feel that he could the way his videos are presented. They seem to reach students who are currently learning a new topic or are confused on a topic and want extra help. I think this is a great example of a YouTube video that can be used any way. It can be used in a flipped classroom or just for extra help. Anyone around the world can see this video.
I love watching YouTube when I have a problem and seeing how others solved it. The power of YouTube is just absolutely huge. So when I see articles on how people are becoming popular from Youtube like Mr. Tarrou, I am reminded of how much of an influence YouTube has on our society. To me it is just as influential as Google. I would love to sit in Mr. Tarrou’s class and see if he is like his YouTube videos!
This is very interesting to me. I have recently struggled with students being out sick and how to find time in the day to teach them what they missed in subjects such as math and ELA. I think that Mr. Tarrou may be onto something by posting lessons on YouTube. While it obviously will have its downfalls, such as the ones you mentioned, I see it being a valuable tool in getting information to students who have missed class, without having to worry about when this will happen and how you will fit it in. I do wonder, however, that is this poses a problem with students who do not have access to the internet to be able to watch these lessons. I feel that it could be a great idea, but there would have to be some follow up on the teachers end to make sure that the student was able to watch the lesson and actually got the intended learning out of it.
Great find!
There is much crap out there on youtube, but when searched thoroughly it is easy to filter out useful resources like online lectures – thanks to the rating system and proactive youtube community. I watch lectures on youtube myself, not on youtube, but khanacademy and udacity lectures are basically uploaded on you tube and then implemented in their own websites. I also used this implementation feature for my recent blogpost. Its amazing how simple, quickly and seamlessly this whole process is!