Now is time to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Internet, and YouTube is one of them! If you are an education director, policymaker or teacher, you can make use of this social media by structuring and delivering simple lessons that will enhance learning.
Author: Amy Lightfoot
In some countries, there are established TV channels specifically for educational programmes or set times during the day when this content is broadcast. Find out what schedules are being created and how you can contribute your content and skills.
If you’re thinking about using YouTube, set up a channel (see Useful links below).
Remember you have the option of doing both live and recorded lessons.
Be clear about whether the lessons should focus on reviewing and revising content or introducing new concepts. This will affect how you design your content.
Look at the curriculum that the students need to follow – either national curriculum documentation or their textbook syllabus – and design your lessons accordingly.
Think about who your target audience is – what age groups do you expect will watch? Do you need to design lessons for different age groups or different levels of knowledge and skills? The more focused this is, the better your content will be.
Decide what technology you need to use. Do you only need to write the lesson scripts for someone else to present or do you need to record them too? If you are recording, check what file formats and quality the broadcast service requires from you.
Have a structure for your lessons – a beginning, middle and end – but also vary the types of input and activities to keep your learners engaged. If you have access to the internet, watching some examples of people teaching English on YouTube can give you some ideas for your lessons. Remember that you will need a balance of presenting new language and opportunities for the learners to practise or review what they have learned.