Learning with Web 2.0 YouTube and Podcast Style

Online video sharing is fantastic! Podcasting is also great but as far as "fun and entertainment" goes, video sharing is tops. With regard to the educational aspects and uses of YouTube and podcasting, each method may appeal to individuals for a variety of reasons. We all have different learning styles and podcasting may be the preferred method for those who are audio or aural learners. For visual learners or for demonstrating technique or method, YouTube might be preferred. YouTube is perfect for demonstrating a golf swing, showing how to bone a chicken, or how to lay ceramic tile. This past Christmas I had the grand idea of making sausage rolls, an appetizer that the older members of my family always make at family gatherings and holidays. I wasn't sure exactly how to roll and shape the pastry. Voila! YouTube! I found several videos demonstrating this. I was pleasantly surpised and pleased. This almost eliminates the need for a cookbook.



Podcasting is great for imparting knowledge such as audio guided tours through museums or galleries, listening to a college lecture , listening to stories, or listening to the latest review of newly published books. You would be amazed at the variety of podcasts available. There is no excuse for ignorance in this day and age. Many colleges and universities have course lectures as podcasts. I believe a person could get the equivalent of a college education through podcasts. Here is a list of college and universities that offer podcasting. Interested in learning a foreign language? How about Dutch, Bulgarian, Danish, Norwegian, just to name a few. Podcasts have the potential to be one of the finest educational uses of technology and Web 2.0.


Between podcasting and YouTube, sign me up for Team YouTube. I could spend hours browsing the videos. Here's one I particularly liked. Check out this video. It is a clip from the Lawrence Welk show (you young ones won't remember him) where he pays homage to our very own south suburban town of Flossmoor.