In my first five years of teaching, I kept a blank tape in my VCR (yep, that's how long ago we are talking). When something happened that could be used to demonstrate any concept I taught, I hit record. This tape contained the launch of the space shuttle, several olympic events, a few commercials, even a recording of the time Tulsa's weather man had laser eye surgery live on the air. I used this tape for a long time because visual demonstrations of physics being used provide meaning and relevance to learning.
Then, in 2005, the greatest thing that could ever happen to education happened - the invention of YouTube. It wasn't intended for that. In fact, it was created as a way of archiving news footage for public watching (or as an online dating service, depending on which of the founders you listen to). The internet being the modern equivalent of the Wild, Wild west, people decided they would use it however they wished and began uploading everything from cat videos to Star Wars parodies. Somewhat slowly, colleges began to see the power of posting lectures online, and YouTube provided a convenient place to do that. Smart phones and apps gave people the ability to upload anything from anywhere, so we now see almost every aspect of life posted on YouTube. I even repaired my shower by using a video from the Home Depot You Tube Channel.
In the past few years, YouTube has become my "go to" source for science demonstrations that are too dangerous or expensive to be done live. It has also become a source of illustrating science topics. When I am doing my lesson plans, I go to the site and type in the topic of the day. Whether it is the Doppler effect or chemical bonding, I can always find an animation that will help a topic make more sense to my students. Sometimes, I can't remember how I taught without it.
This post is being written one week into the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. I just went and searched the term "Rio Olympics 2016" and received a return of 3,180,000 results. As a physics teacher, this is amazing. I can show angular momentum using a perfectly synchronized dive from the China team, Newton's third law of motion by showing Katie Ledecky crush her 800m freestyle, or the impulse momentum theorem by comparing a Simone Biles "stuck" landing with other gymnast who took that extra hop or step. I can even teach chemistry by explaining why the pool water in Rio turned green. By the way, there is a lot to be gained using the winter olympics as well.
What I used to do in a clunky way with a VHS tape that I had to fast rewind to the right point in between each class, I can now do at the speed of thought. It can happen on the rabbit trail if a student makes a connection I didn't expect.
I haven't even mentioned the YouTube channels that provide education on purpose. There are some amazing resources, among my favorites are Crash Course and Khan Academy and Discovery Education. There are also some of the great shows, like Modern Marvels and How Its Made. These are also great resources for review and engagement.
Technology gets criticized frequently for its potential negative effects on education. Reports often focus on attention span, distractibility, and students not being taught basic information because they can just Google it. Those are certainly issues that need to be addressed, as teachers have always needed to adapt to the impact of any cultural change. Like any tool, the effectiveness comes from how it is used. I would encourage all teachers, no matter the subject, to use YouTube daily. Before long, you will have the encouraging experience of your students sending links to you. That's when you know you have inspired learners.
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