I have found myself using Youtube.com more and more in my classroom. From explaining Pasteurization to vandagraph machines to simply putting music on in the background of collaborative activities, the sights and sounds of multimedia can add another dimension to the learning experience.
An unfortunate side effect of this dynamic resource is that it is always changing. In the past, I had been using TeacherTube, as it is more 'school friendly' and easier to be trusted, but the sheer size of YouTube's arsenal cannot be ignored. I always make sure to screen every video that I want to show BEFORE I show it. That is common sense, teachers. You don't want to find that movie of the monkey peeing into its mouth instead of the Schoolhouse Rock video you expected when it is in front of your class. (yes that movie does exist)
To help us combat the inappropriate (insert subjectivity here!) Google, the parent of YouTube, has introduced Safety Mode.
It will filter out what has been deemed unsafe, and won't allow those results to come up. It will also shut comments off unless you choose to view them, and it will edit out 'foul language'. How nice! There are some gliches, of course, but this is something that I will be using in my own classroom from now on.
I will continue to screen vids beforehand, of course.
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