I’m enjoying the review of the week’s tweets that I am basically assigning myself to read. Looking at the weekly post is a way to review my thinking over that time, and now posting a tweet is also writing a short note to myself that I’ll read the following week.
Here’s one from the other night:
Too much censorship begins with well-intentioned people worrying about other people’s kids.
The tweet came at the beginning of a conversation with Vicki Davis in reference to an idea that she has about ratings on YouTube videos. I promised her an explanation of my position. So here goes:
I’m not for forcing one’s will on any organization that exists as a for-profit, private enterprise. I’m certainly not for forcing one’s values on that enterprise, either, in the name of education or anything else. It sounds cold – but it’s not YouTube’s responsibility to be everything to everyone. They built themselves around the audiences that they wished to serve. Further – I think we hide behind the education shield a little too often.
If I wanted to build a school on the block where a popular bar was, and then I decided that I didn’t like having a bar so close to my school, so I attempted to try to shut the bar down, I’d be completely in the wrong.
So, too, with YouTube. When we go there for educational purposes, and don’t like what we see, how is that the fault of YouTube?
I’d rather let YouTube be YouTube. I can bring their content into my educational spaces, if I choose too, but I could also be responsible for creating my own space to post and share videos and decide the rules for its use.
It’s not up to them to make a space that I am happy with. Nor is it up to a third-party to make them change for my benefit.
Hope that makes sense, Vicki.
what do you say to no more machine filtering – and go to human filtering – via the teachers and parent volunteers. i think there is so much to be learned from exposure to things kids can experience outside the classroom – in a safe environment.
so – open access – with humans standing by.
and then youtube could just be youtube. who knows – the more we used it – the more it might clean itself u
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No, my point doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with youtube as an educational space – it has to do with the fact that youtube is a replacement for or parallel to television and that parents at home have a right to determine what their children will watch.
Youtube, netflix, hulu – all of these ARE television. My child watches netflix on the computer at our house as they do all the other media – so I expect ratings on hulu and netflix and also should get them AS A PARENT on youtube.
It would not be that hard to put an educational overlay onto youtube with some sort of nonprofit to the side sort of thing that youtube/Google could do or another – just a database with links and embed codes allowing for ratings should be able to do that.
But the point to me is that youtube IS tv. It is. With the connections of our computers into our TV’s we should be able as parents to determine what our children are watching is OK for them.
Many parents ignore the ratings and that is their right – parents can parent as they want to. But where I have a problem is where I’m required AS A PARENT to be clairvoyant (knowing what is going to play on youtube next) and omnipresent (always beside my kids) – I’m not either, so I’d like to as a parent to be able to set youtube filters for my children that let them access youtube but filter out the things that are not OK for their age level.
Again, this is a PARENTAL issue. Although I’d like to have some sort of overlay on youtube to allow filtration/ ratings for educators, this would probably have to be some sort of add on (have a blog post coming tomorrow on social filtration – one I’m sure you’ll take to as well.!)
But anyway, that is my viewpoint on this topic. Youtube is coming into my house as television and in the US, we passed laws requiring ratings for things on TV. I noticed today that Fred, the youtube channel now self posts their rating as TV-Y (a point I’d disagree with, although it is a start) — so, people are self posting their ratings. With the allowance of ratings and no one being able to disagree with the rating and no one checking, we have something growing here that is going to be a mess.
Better to do it right the first time.
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I find it interesting that Ms. Davis begins by saying her point doesn’t have anything to do with youtube as an education site yet 2 paragraphs on she says
“It would not be that hard to put an educational overlay onto youtube with some sort of nonprofit to the side sort of thing that youtube/Google could do or another”
Is it just my interpretation, or did she just contradict herself?
I thank you, Mr. Hunt, for taking the time to share your thoughts through this blog post.
Perhaps it would be best said- however, if there was a desire it would not be two hard to put an educational overlay.
This is indeed 2 separate issues. 1) is tv the same as YouTube? Should laws from television passed to help children be guided on what to watch apply to YouTube? I think inevitably due to convergence that YouTube will be classified as media whether we like it or not. My point is that YouTube and tv are not distinct in how they are used.
Issue 2) could YouTube be adapted for education? I already use it in my classroom and the best filter is my eyes because I can see every computer. However, many schools are excluded. There should be a way for some innovative entrepreneur to repurpose YouTube to allow the video to be more readily used in schools. There is a demand for it and surely someone could do it.
Sorry for being unclear in that those are two separate issues. Perhaps this will clarify my intent to the previous commented. Thank you.
I’m not sure yet, but it sure looks like WatchKnow (http://www.watchknow.org/) does this very layered thing I was trying to explain – wiki-fying video search of educational videos on youtube.
This makes sense to me! What do you think, Bud? Is this a better option or should education just stay off youtube?
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