Thing 20 -- YouTube

YouTube is a powerful tool that reaches millions of people very quickly. The only problem is that many district filters block it, so it isn't accessible to students. As a librarian, I hold the power to override the filter. My district has come a long way, making improvements by now having tiered filtering. Teachers can now access a lot of the Web 2.0 and social networking sites (such as YouTube) that were formerly blocked to everyone, but they are still blocked for students, and teachers still don't have access to everything.

Most of theYouTube videos that I watched using the recommended search terms for this Thing were short videos promoting libraries and library resources. I got a little bit sidetracked by the bookcart drill teams, but I quickly found my way back to my mission of perusing library related videos. Some that stuck out were "TextShare Databases," "School Library Media Specialist--My Library-My Life," a stop animation video by Carlton Middle School Library. Some of the videos I found could be used to teach a concept or skill, and several discussed the concept of plagiarism. I got a few good ideas about making videos for my own library by searching through YouTube and the suggested videos that came up. Maybe creating movies can be a project for this school year, or if it's as crazy as last year, it may have to wait until the summer.

Another thing I'd like to try my hand at is making book trailers. There are quite a few good ones available on YouTube. I think I'll add a trailer for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book to my school library blog. YouTube is a good host for book trailers, and it is a good source to search to see if one is already available. I attended a session called "Amp Up your BookTalks" at the TLA conference this past year to learn how to make book trailers and use them to promote reading, so that is definitely a goal of mine for the upcoming year.

I'll end with this YouTube video that I think sums up what we have been learning in these past few months with the 23 Things. I believe this manifesto rings true. It is not for the close minded or easily offended, but for those who embrace change, the power of information, and intellectual freedom.