PLN: You-Tube

PLN: You-Tube

While this one seems quite obvious, there is much to be said about You-tube. In my high school, it was blocked, so students did not waste class time watching irrelevant videos during class time. Now that I think about it though, there are many benefits to using You-tube in the classroom. If you are performing a piece, you can look up recordings and even videos of high level orchestras that have performed it. This gives student she ability to listen to expensive, professional orchestras without the cost and hassle of a field trip. Also, you can have student's parents upload videos from concerts. This can be an opportunity for reflection and possibly even celebration. The children can watch and hear themselves play in a performance setting and either listen for "things they can do better" or be proud of the final product they have produced. There are also many videos of things rarely done that are interesting to musicians. There is a video of a man beatboxing while playing flute to inspector gadget, or the videos of the Acapella group Pentatonix, who take modern songs and sing them sans instruments, or even the countless videos of 4 year olds playing the mozart concerto on violin you've been studying for your senior recital. These videos, while genuinely enjoyable also pose new questions and experiences to students which might make them more interested. While You-tube is still a place where "Charlie Bit Me" can become a global phenomenon, it also can provide children with musical resources outside of their limits.