Overview

Goal: Consult a YouTube channel with an extremely critical lens, then use this data to create one's own YouTube channel.

Description: This year, Freshmen in Mr. Payne’s English class were able to work one on one with a (semi) popular YouTuber. As teachers, we often times see student interests as distractions. Instead, Mr. Payne attempted to take this distraction (YouTube) and make it the curriculum. With YouTube 101: Scootin America, students were able to see YouTube (and those who use it) through an extremely critical lens. Acting as “consultants” for the YouTuber (Adam Sandoval), students studied branding, marketing, algorithms, inference (via demographics and comments), communication skills, collaboration, design, and organization while simultaneously synthesizing these skills by putting them in to practice (creating their own videos/channels). While FaceTiming with Adam (the YouTuber) classes were able to see real-time results and get immediate (and realistic feedback). Students were able to follow the growth of Adam’s channel daily, seeing their thoughts and ideas become successes. It was to culminate with Adam coming to visit the school and see the students’ presentation, however, he was involved in a fairly serious car accident and was unable to attend our 2017 expo night. 

Subject: English 1

Grade Level: 9

Materials

• Weekly Goals
• Weekly Reflections
• Daily (Group) Assessment

Mastery Assessment

• Completion of weekly goals and reflections, which includes:
  • Successful research of workings of YouTube, branding, and marketing
  • Written and oral assessments of work to Adam (the YouTuber)
  • Creation of own YouTube channel with learned design elements