An Addiction to Digital Literacy

Today's post is brought to you by Carrie Sand.

I’m going to begin with a confession: I may be a YouTube channel subscribing addict.

This year I've been personally and professionally transformed by the power of digital literacy. I've always dabbled with using videos, but lately I find I can use them  for EVERYTHING…..my own personal enjoyment and development, professional development with colleagues, and  mini-lessons with students in my classroom. Is it the fact that the video feels like an escape to the movies in the middle of the day? Is it the moving and inspiring music that is inevitably playing in the background? Or could it just be the visual and audio relief of seeing and hearing someone different? WHATEVER “it” is, the minute I dim the lights and the blue screen of my SMARTboard flashes on, my audience sits a little bit taller, become just a little more engaged, and dare I say, a slight buzz of excitement filters through the room.

Here are some of my most successful videos/channels and ways I've used them this year!

Flocabulary YT: Love a good educational sing-along? Flocabulary is the place. Check out the Huck Finn video I used with my 11th grade students this year! Warning: this song sticks in your head FOREVER!!

Another favorite for informational ‘text’ is howstuffworks. This site has TONS of short, informative videos on just about any topic possible. With a variety of other “stuff” playlists and channels like: Brain Stuff, Stuff Your Mom Never Told You, The Coolest Stuff on the Planet, Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know, and Stuff From the Future. There are videos for EVERY class, subject, topic, idea, or wondering you may ever (or ever not) have!

Professionally, I love the FisherFrey channel for great resources and classroom snapshots using the Gradual Release of Responsibility, as well as strategies such as close reading techniques, text dependent questions, and text annotation. I also use videos from SmarterBalanced to provide background, training, and orientation.

When most people think of Youtube in the classroom, many teachers begin and end with tried and true channels like Khan Academy or Tedtalks. I’ve found, however that these channels are just the beginning of the power of using digital literacy to motivate, increase engagement, and improve success for all types of learners.