YouTube

I've played with YouTube and TeacherTube a number of times over the last 2 weeks. I'm just delighted that real people who know "stuff" can record and show others what they know. After I took my first 6 classes in how to play the mountain dulcimer, there was NOBODY within an hour's drive that could show me how to do a hammer-on or how to flat-pick. I was thrilled that I could request books and tapes on interlibrary loan on how to play the dulcimer, and I thought I went to heaven when I discovered a dulcimer listserv. But I still couldn't SEE how to do something.

On both YouTube and TeacherTube I found dulcimer champions, professionals, and just plain folk who demonstrated their own playing styles. By watching them, I saw flaws in my own playing style; I saw techniques I'd only read about; I learned skills faster.

Our students will also find visual/auditory ways to learn skills and concepts by using the Tubes. Many learners can visualize something as it's taught to us, but many learners can't. Many learners have the patience to reconstruct a process in their minds, but many don't. I see the Tubes as being a way of having a personal demonstrating instructor nearby throughout the learning process. And you can slow down the image if you need to catch all the nuances of some skill--slick!

TeacherTube teaches teachers, too. Professional development right at your computer. Not all of the entries are fantastic. But sometimes teachers need to see a bad demo to learn how to do it properly. What a wonderful time for teachers and learners alike!