This past week was a busy week at work and home, and I didn’t have the opportunity to do my usual ‘perusal of the blogs’ routine until Saturday night. There are some advantages to a once-a-week review of my favorite blog sites, as well as some disadvantages.
As I was reviewing the new entries on the Library of Congress blog site I found a blog entry titled “Uncle Sam 2.0: U.S. Government Goes YouTube”. After spending a little time there reviewing the content, I felt it was a site worth sharing with our Social Studies folks.
The home page for the site is the U.S. Government Channel. To access it, you will have to use a home or public library computer, as our District filters block YouTube. More on that later.
Some of the entries were a little disappointing – such as the FDIC Channel’s collection of short PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) – while other entries have quite a bit of potential for judicious use in the classroom. However, some gems were found in the History, Arts, and Culture channel as well as The White House channel – which has weekly broadcasts from the President concerning policies, directions we are heading, as well as current issues the United States is facing.
These could be very valuable as instructional tools when appropriately used. They could be wonderful class discussion starters; for analysis of politics, propaganda, and viewpoints; as well further resources for each of the fields of Social Studies.
While our District filters out live YouTube viewing, the selections can be downloaded and played from a classroom computer. Thumb drives are great for moving the file from home to work.
I would encourage you to take a peek at the site, explore, and determine if there is any entries at the site that you feel would be appropriate in the classroom. I know that I did not take the time to look at all of the channels, but the site is on my 'go back and visit often' list.
I wonder if our Florida government will be doing the same thing?
Essential Question: Do you view the YouTube U.S. Government Channel as a valuable resource for education or a powerful tool of salesmanship and influence?
Picture Resource:
U.S. Capitol Building, about.com
As I was reviewing the new entries on the Library of Congress blog site I found a blog entry titled “Uncle Sam 2.0: U.S. Government Goes YouTube”. After spending a little time there reviewing the content, I felt it was a site worth sharing with our Social Studies folks.
The home page for the site is the U.S. Government Channel. To access it, you will have to use a home or public library computer, as our District filters block YouTube. More on that later.
Some of the entries were a little disappointing – such as the FDIC Channel’s collection of short PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) – while other entries have quite a bit of potential for judicious use in the classroom. However, some gems were found in the History, Arts, and Culture channel as well as The White House channel – which has weekly broadcasts from the President concerning policies, directions we are heading, as well as current issues the United States is facing.
These could be very valuable as instructional tools when appropriately used. They could be wonderful class discussion starters; for analysis of politics, propaganda, and viewpoints; as well further resources for each of the fields of Social Studies.
While our District filters out live YouTube viewing, the selections can be downloaded and played from a classroom computer. Thumb drives are great for moving the file from home to work.
I would encourage you to take a peek at the site, explore, and determine if there is any entries at the site that you feel would be appropriate in the classroom. I know that I did not take the time to look at all of the channels, but the site is on my 'go back and visit often' list.
I wonder if our Florida government will be doing the same thing?
Essential Question: Do you view the YouTube U.S. Government Channel as a valuable resource for education or a powerful tool of salesmanship and influence?
Picture Resource:
U.S. Capitol Building, about.com
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