I am a big fan of “Do-it-yourself” (DIY) media as a crucial tool in my work as a professor. Although it’s a bit of work to create my own tools such as YouTube videos, I find it to be highly worthwhile. Click here to see my YouTube channel.
Although, I do draw on ready-made videos that are available via YouTube and elsewhere, I often find myself making my own videos to share with online teaching and also face-to-face teaching in work as a teacher educator. I make my own for these reasons:
1. I believe it enhances credibility when I can draw on my own professional wisdom, experiences from my former classroom teaching and work as a specialist and overall knowledge to share what I know, in addition to the research base I draw on to share teaching ideas. For instance, as a former bilingual teacher, I can keep these learners in mind as I share ideas for literacy instruction.
2. I think it personalizes learning to have the presenter in the video match the instructor of the course. This doesn’t always have to be the case, but it helps to have a personal connection to a mentor. If I know someone personally, they can be more of a mentor to me, so I would imagine the same to be true with online learning–it helps to have the personalized connection.
3. I agree most with my own thoughts! This sounds like a tautology, but when I view others’ videos, I don’t always agree with what they say or believe and so there are little to no “caveats” when I create my own media.
4. D.I.Y. Media can be created as “just in time” learning to best meet the needs of students. A video can be created to clarify a concept, etc.
5. It helps to model use of technology to teachers.
Teaching-by-video, while not entirely “new” is still an emergent technology, given that they can be so easily and readily created. It also creates a curiosity for me, as to what might be the best use of teaching by video, videoconferencing, and other instances where the teaching medium goes beyond text-and-email. I am a technophile, of course, not for it’s own sake, but for the advantages and potential learning opportunities it can provide for me and my students.
Someone recently mentioned to me the concept of teaching by hologram. That would potentially be a whole new facet of online/virtual teaching to explore, when the cost wouldn’t be a burden!
Literacy Update 