Sunday, October 28, 2007

Week 9, Thing 20 - Can U Tube!

This is the first time I had the chance of viewing "You Tube". I had heard many negative and funny things that have appeared on this website. I had the impression that this was a site that was of interest to mainly the youth in our society; a way for them to express themselves freely without their parents permission. I was a little reluctant at first but then decided to give it a try. I decided to search for "Flamenco dancers". To my surprise, many items appeared to choose from. I viewed 10 or more videos of performers from Barcelona, Madrid, South America, NYC, etc. Beautiful dances performed by men and women, solo as well as group performances. The dancers were accompanied by singers, guitars, violins, drums, people pounding on wooden boxes, etc. It was educational as well as entertaining. I now see You Tube in a different light - not so much negative, but as a learning tool as well. Of course, their are some videos on subjects that can be viewed as harmful to some. I'm not sure if aything can be done about this other than policing what your child is seeing on the internet.



I also viewed some videos about african safaris, and found some beautiful, and incredible videos of animals roaming freely in Kenya and the wilderbeest migrating and crossing the Mara River. Some were visually stunning and some the video quality was a bit to be desired. All and all, my impression of You Tube has changed for the better and I can see it being used as a learning tool. The library could perhaps download podcasts that would be beneficial to students on subjects they feel are safe and educational for the community.

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