Putting the YOU in YouTube

Video is an ever evolving form of educational technology, however more often than not, the way educators have used video in their classrooms has not evolved quite as quickly. One invaluable tool that is available to all teachers throughout the district is YouTube. Below are five tips for better utilizing YouTube in your classroom.

1. Uploading Your Own Content

YouTube isn’t just a place for you to watch videos, you can also create your own content and upload it to your channel with ease. To get started making your own videos, we recommend checking out the district-supported tool, WeVideo. Once you have your videos created, you can upload them, then customize everything including the video description, title, privacy settings, and thumbnail.

 

2. Building Playlists

Playlists are a feature of YouTube that allow you to organize a customized collection of videos. You can build playlists with your own content or by curating other videos, then share the lists out for others to view or add on to. Learn how to make, find, edit, and delete your playlists here. Also, don’t forget that in order for your students to view the videos in your playlist, you need to make sure each video is approved for BVSD by checking the blue status bar at the bottom of each video.

3. Sharing your Channel

Sharing your YouTube channel with students, parents, and the community can be a great communication tool. If you’re nervous about who can see your content, have no fear! YouTube allows you to adjust the privacy settings to customize it for your intended audience.

 

Share your videos easily by clicking on the “Share” button at the bottom of every YouTube video. From here you can grab a link to send or the HTML code to embed it on your website or in Schoology.

4. Go Live with Broadcasting

A live broadcast gives you the capability to interact with your audience in real time, easily share your videos with very little lag time, and save your broadcast for others to view later. YouTube Live is an easy-to-use tool that is available to all teachers in BVSD with their Google accounts, and all you need is your Chromebook! Check out this video to see how to use YouTube Live (*Note that some features listed are not available in an educational account).

5. Find Other Great Channels

One way to keep up with valuable content on YouTube is to subscribe to different channels. By clicking thebutton, you will add the channel to your list of subscriptions, plus you can choose to receive alerts whenever the channel posts a new video by clicking the

icon. Subscriptions are also great for finding channels that are specific to the content that you teach so you can view the most up-to-date resources. Below are some great channels for you to check out, plus don’t forget to subscribe to the Ed Tech Team YouTube channel!

Hopefully using these quick tips will help you get started using this valuable video tool in your classroom. If you are interested in putting more YOU into YouTube, contact an Ed Tech Specialist or tweet us at @BVSDEdTech.