This week we are exploring the use of YouTube as a Web 2.0 tool. The main idea is to create playlists and to collect relevant YouTube videos in those playlists on some specific topics - Using Twitter and Twitter Tools, Teaching and Learning with Technology, Use of Web 2.0 Tools for Education, something related to our discipline (I chose Teaching Physics), and something that interests us (I chose Coaching Chess).
Now I am no stranger to Youtube. I have searched broad topics to find something I am thinking about related to a topic, to find material for a specific lesson, to find material I know exists but have not bother to save somewhere, to find how to's on some task at hand, to follow some YouTube link recommended to me, even to create and post my own videos, and, rarely, just to poke around to find something interesting.. Given all the occasions listed above to interact with YouTube, one might think I would have taken the time to investigate the organization tools in YouTube to manage all the videos I wish to save, but one would be wrong. Other than occasionally clicking the "Subscribe" button on a YouTube source that appeals to me, I really did not seek to find the power of YouTube organization and flex its muscles. Truth be told, until this week, I was not really sure where the subscriptions I saved could even be found. Needless to say, my YouTube adventure with playlists opened my eyes to the possibilities and will doubtless enhance my use of and efficiency with YouTube.
The mechanics of adding a YouTube video to a playlist are remarkably simple. With the target YouTube video minimized, simply click on the "Save" button below to the right side of the video image (see image to left).
A menu pops up with the current palette of playlists (see image to right). If one wishes to save the video to one or more of these existing playlists, check the boxes next to the relevant playlist and exit. If the video does not fit any existing playlist, click the "Create" button and enter a name for a new playlist.
To retrieve the play lists, one opens their personal YouTube channel and clicks on the "Playlist" button to see all the playlists saved (see image below).
As one can see above, the playlists above represent the results of my YouTube Adventure. Each of these playlists can be clicked on to reveal the contents of the playlist.
Below is a slideshow with each of my playlists opened. At this level the Youtube videos in the playlist can be operated on to do things like sort, play, share, and delete.
Now, certainly this playlist capability in YouTube is extremely helpful in organizing videos that are meaningful to me, and I am much chagrined to have eschewed this capability till now. I shudder to think how many times I had to search over and over again for some YouTube video I wanted to share with one or more of my classes; well, never again. Of course, having this capability made think a bit more deeply about how I should use it. The first thing that came to mind is once I decide to start collecting videos in a specific playlist, how do I determine which videos are worthy of being added to my playlist.
My previous approach to selecting videos to memorialize was largely based in having watched the video and liked it, having received a recommendation for the video from a reliable source, or sourced the video from a collection that I generally trust as a reliable source. Certainly, these remain viable approaches to finding useful videos. But, what if with my newfound playlist capability, I want to queue up a number of videos for perusal later? I cannot simply watch and judge each video on the spot to see if I like it; the vastness of YouTube content makes this a very inefficient process. I also cannot wait for recommendations for video gems from others; while this is a great way to get useful videos, such input is usually sporadic and not always on point with the ideas crossing my mind at the time.
As I was doing my YouTube Adventure and looking at videos in a more prospective way, I actually started paying attention to the information provided about the videos listed as the
results of a topic search. For example, the YouTube search on "Diigo", (see image to left), yields a long list of YouTube videos to consider. While narrowing the search terms would have likely given a more refined list of videos, there is useful information about each video on the search list to contemplate. In addition to the title and source, there is information about the year the video was posted and how many clicks it received.
If this information peaks my curiosity, I can click on the video and view additional information with the video minimized (see image to right). Now I can see some of the same information about title, source, and date, and, in addition, I can see the number of "Likes" and "Dislikes", the number of subscribers the source has, and a list of comments. While none of these are definitive in identifying a YouTube video I will like or find useful, they do start to lend more credibility to the YouTube video and give me a few more levers to pull to figure out my level of interest.
For example, if I am looking for something related to current events, a YouTube video post ten years ago probably won't do it for me. If I am looking for more mainstream ideas, a YouTube video from an obscure source with a limited following and few clicks is not going to be very promising. If I am looking for a YouTube that appears to be in positive play on the web, then a video with few "Likes" and many negative comments is not likely to fit the bill. Depending upon on my targeted interests, I can quickly cross reference the information provided about a YouTube video and develop a heuristic that helps me identify the better candidate videos.
Of course, there are many caveats to consider with my approach above. Mainstream sources with lots of followers, clicks, "Likes", and positive comments can also "pass trash", especially given that more sophisticated sources using marketing techniques to boost their positives and "herd more sheep to the trough". Also, obscure sources with few followers, clicks, "Likes", and positive comments can harbor videos that are real gems., especially if the source is relatively new or poorly marketed. The takeaway for me is that while finding good videos is largely a probability-based numbers game and "the loudest barker at the carnival often draws the crowd", one should be circumspect about simply skipping over less popular YouTube videos when building a playlist; this is where other trusted social media avenues can be helpful in finding viable YouTube video sources to consider for a playlist.
Finally, a few more thoughts generated during my YouTube Adventure. First, an important capability of YouTube organization tools to not overlook is the "Subscribe" button. When one finds a YouTube source that seems to reliably deliver videos of interest and utility, subscribe to the source; I know I did (see image below).
Second, at some point the pattern in these ETEC adventures is going to dawn on me - even if one is using a Web 2.0 resource, has one really looked at the tools to leverage that Web 2.0 resource? More importantly, how do I personally overcome the cognitive bias of ignoring the tools, handed to me on a platter, to make a resource more useful, simply because I have an urgent task and cannot afford to be efficient? I believe the operative saying here is, "Never enough time to do something right, but always enough time to do it twice."; this is a powerful insight indeed.
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