YouTube!

YouTube is a Web 2 that I use daily whether it may be for music or educational purposes. The website has many videos which are suitable for all ages. However, the website has both pros and cons.

Small businesses who are trying to become more developed can advertise their products for free by making their own YouTube channel. This allows for them to produce as many videos as they like which will broadcast their product to the world.

Below is an example of free advertising:

Another pro is the variety of educational videos which are available on YouTube. This is an advantage for students who prefer to listen or learn visually through the use of images and videos. The educational videos on YouTube can range from History and Science to Car Mechanics and Tutorials.

Here is an example of an educational video:

YouTube enforces age restrictions on videos which are not suitable for children who are under the age of 18. This makes the website safe for all ages, and allows for easy access.  Also, the website strongly enforces content filers which remove videos that do not comply with the terms and conditions employed by the site operators. For example, Pornographic videos, videos reporting racism etc.

Below is an extract from the YouTube Terms and Conditions:

Among all the videos on YouTube, you can also discover a variety of new talents in a variety of fields. YouTube can become a network where singers, dancers or even magicians can upload videos of themselves to gain recognition. Steven Frayne, known as Dynamo Magician Impossible, was once one of those who began his career by posting videos on Youtube.

Here is an example of one of Dynamo’s earlier videos:

So far, I have only mentioned the pros of YouTube. However, there are cons to the website. These include harsh comments on YouTube videos which can lead to cyber bullying. This is something that YouTube struggles to control due to the sheer volume.

Below is a comment which I took from a video on YouTube:

Another con is that some educational videos could be unreliable or biased. This could lead to people believing that everything they see or hear is true and passing the information on to others.

Here is an example of a propaganda video:

People with YouTube channels are also beginning to complain about the over enforcement of copyright rules as their YouTube videos are getting deleted. This is due to them using game footage or music in their videos which do not belong to them. Despite this fact there have not been many complaints from content holders as this produces free advertisement for their products. Also, children are able to make their own accounts on YouTube where they can easily lie about their age to be able to watch content which is not suitable for them. 

Tag Galaxy!

Today, I discovered Tag Galaxy, an educational blog. The site was created by a student named Steven Wood for his 2008 diploma thesis project. I decided that it was valuable enough to be on my blog as I spent an hour going through the site and found it very interesting.

As you enter the blog, you are asked to “enter initial tag”; this could be anything that you want. For example blue, mining and school. The site is simple and easy to use regardless of age. I found that Tag Galaxy could be used within schools to enable children to see the different aspects of a word that could mean one thing to them.

I enjoyed exploring different words, and I found that I did learn something new. This amazed me as I thought it would be another educational site for children. However, as I began going through the site and exploring any tags that came to mind, an hour had gone already.

Below is a video from YouTube which is a brief outline of what Tag Galaxy is:

Why do I find the site so valuable?

Instead of using text to tell me about the tag, it uses a variety of pictures from everywhere. This makes the site more interesting as I didn't get bored. It came to the point that I wanted to look at more tags as I was becoming more and more interested each time. Using images rather than text can entice children to learn as they become fascinated with the images that they are seeing. If you prefer to learn visually, then this site would be perfect for you.

Once you enter a tag, you will come to a page with a big planet in the middle (which is your main word), and then little planets going around it with other words which are linked to it. This means that you could explore the little planets as well as the main one to help with your research. Here is an example of one I did earlier:

I decided to explore landscape and sea, and this brought me to a new screen. In the middle of the screen there is a big planet again, but this time it is surrounded in different pictures of what I researched. Below is a screenshot of the result:

I recommend this site to anyone who would rather learn through images as images speak a thousand words. 

Glogster!

During my lecture I was introduced to Glogster, which is a unique social network where individuals can create and share their own Glogs. Glogster enables anyone to express their emotions, ideas and knowledge online through creating a 'Glog'. A Glog is an interactive poster where you are able to add text, videos, music, graphics and far more.

Glogster could be used in an educational context in many school subjects, such as timelines of events to enable them to remember key dates in History. As well as this, you could create a Glog to express emotions of characters in a novel or play. Other uses for Glogster in an educational context is that Glogs can be as colourful as you want, as well as being open to any ideas that you have, therefore they could also be used with young children, such as creating timelines of their life or simply a Glog about the things they enjoy or like.

I created a Glog as an example which shows the things I love about my life. I found Glogster easy to use and I could move, add and delete anything that I wanted on my personal Glog. Through my experience of using Glogster, I believe that anyone would be able to use it, however young children would need help from an adult.