Student Created Content - You Tube and Curriculum

Re-posted from my blog http://mssigman.edublogs.org/

Today I am thinking about how I feel in long meetings that don't really relate to what I want to know. I'm thinking about that "glazed-over" look that comes to my eyes and brain. I see this reflected often in my students. They get that same "glazed-over" look. They are not interested in long presentations. This is not to say that I am a "bad" teacher. My students this year indicated that they actually learned a lot in my class. Still they did not always learn all of the things I wanted to teach them.

I also spent time looking at You Tube. Most You Tube videos are between 2 and 9 minutes long. One of the most prolific and successfull You Tubers..."Fred" packs an incredible amount of story line into his 3 minute videos. Could I or students create 3-5 minute videos that distill the essential information or skill for each lesson? What about lessons in which multiple skills are taught and practiced? If I could make the presentation that short, think of the incredible amount of time for practice, collaboration and creation my students would have! What do you think? Could it work?