Using YouTube: strategies for using new media in teaching and learning

Peter Duffy
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong SAR, China

Educators regularly use media to enhance the learning experience of students. The evolving ubiquitous nature of websites such as YouTube provides possibilities for engaging students within a new 'learning ecology' -- a landscape in which collaborative and (co)creative spaces are emerging for involving students in the creation, critical assessment and personalization of 'new media' that can be used within teaching and learning.

YouTube, an example of new media, is a free video-sharing website that has rapidly become a wildly popular way to upload, share, view and comment on video clips. With more than 100 million people visiting it per day and more than 65,000 videos uploaded daily, it provides educators with a rich visual resource to engage the Net generation student.

However, in order for a new learning tool -- be it print, multimedia or video -- to be adopted, educators must be able to conceptualize the possibilities for use within a concrete framework. This paper focuses on the educational possibilities of incorporating Web 2.0 new media websites such as YouTube within a pragmatic framework and suggests ways for the effective incorporation of new media into the student learning experience.