YOUTUBE GOES TO SCHOOL: Yes indeed: there's SchoolTube, TeacherTube, the just-off-the server new site, Currix, The Teaching Channel and so on--various ways to put teachers in command of video. Now YouTube is climbing into the picture, too, with YouTube for teachers. YouTube education has in the past had content for universities. But back in July, YouTube convened a group of 17 educators and asked for their help in creating materials that would show teachers how to create, curate and use YouTube content in education. Today YouTube puts that content up on the web, encouraging teachers to create YouTube channels of content they make or curate and then share those channels with their classes. "But wait--there's more!" Although YouTube managers are resolutely mum on the subject, word is that the video giant will be wading more deeply into the K-12 environ. "But most K-12 schools block YouTube," you'll say. (We sure did.) Yeah, they know. But as Mind/Shift's Tina Barseghian points out here, schools don't have to block YouTube just to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act. YouTube's education division might be a bit separate from the rest of YouTube's content. "And how about those ads?" we asked. Yeah, well, ads pay the bills; they get to stay. With all those zillions of videos comes strength: YouTube works on every imaginable device. Definitely stay tuned.
