YouTube: Disadvantages in Classroom Music Education

Topic 2: YouTube in Education

If humans make an invention, there will be flaws. We can find evidence of this in just about every human invention in the world – human inventions have flaws like humans themselves. YouTube although one of the best inventions in the world to bring the world together in global harmony, it can also cause problems for teachers and students alike in small situations that can turn big:

Teachers have problems with YouTube when it comes to classroom distraction – how can they embrace such a great educational tool, when members of the class get off task in a computer class by surfing random inappropriate content? How can teachers protect the kids from viewing inappropriate content and keep them on task? Unless a firewall is placed in the school that blocks YouTube, strict rules need to be established in the classroom, for when it should be appropriately used.

Students, have issues with YouTube in different ways – cyber bullying the obvious antagonist.

Although YouTube was created as an enjoyable share site, the video blogging that occurs on YouTube can also include the less desirable activity of cyber bullying,  (using technology and electronic media to harass another). This is a common practice, especially for kids, who are spending less time on the playground and more time at a computer. In today's world, it's important to understand how such bullying works and how applications like YouTube are used so we can help prevent this cowardly behavior from happening. Cyber bullying is especially bad, because it follows kids into their bedrooms – it’s not just something that happens in a face-to-face encounter.

To some, YouTube remains a mystery. Is it evil or good? As Lange, postdoctoral fellow in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California observes, “people who do not regularly participate on YouTube may not understand why people watch seemingly poor quality or odd videos.  The answer to the question “why do you’ Tube” is as broad as the answer to the question “why do human communicate?”

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/lange.html

Just like a community, YouTube is made up of those who fit and those who do not fit well with norms and rules of a good society. Those who do not play well with others have long plagued Internet communities – YouTube is a perfect example. The people who post rude and often racist, sexist, homophobic, or obscene messages are just like those people. It won’t be a big issue if YouTube set some regulations properly. But YouTube was designed for the whole purpose of ‘freedom to post’, unless it’s copyrighted, or illegal – it’s basically freedom of speech.

Some countries like China and India find this provocative and have blocked YouTube all together on a number of occasions. To give a definite answer as to whether YouTube should be banned or not because of inappropriate content is quite controversial.

 In my opinion, I think it’s a good example of how we are tested as humans to do the right thing, and to use our common sense in how to make the best out of this fantastic internet site.