YouTube It!

“Mike, how did you learn to solve the Rubic’s cube?”, I asked my 7th grade son.

 “I YouTubed it,” he said.

YouTube is a verb. YouTube it. Anytime and anywhere there is a connection to the Internet, learning can take place. Never has a time existed where there is such open access to information. YouTube, Ted.Edu, and access to SMARTphones are changing the culture of the how and where learning takes place. How fantastic is it to be able to pause, play, rewind, and play a video again?  Now it is truly possible to learn a topic at your own pace without feeling silly about asking questions. With the advent of the i0S devices, the ease of using YouTube, and network speed contribute to creating a culture that is transforming how, when, and where we learn.  Accessing and streaming videos is as simple as changing a channel on a TV.

I decided to give YouTube learning a try and master a new song on the piano. I started at YouTube.com and did a search for “Apologize Piano Tutorial”. I pushed the sheet music aside and slid the iPad on the music stand.  I pulled up this video and went to work. I played the video, paused it, then played it on the piano. Then I played the video again, paused it, played it on the piano. I repeated this process hundreds of times over the course of several weeks to master the song. Finally, I did it! I feel so excited, like a kid learning to ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. The thrill of mastering the skill coursed through my veins.  Now the drive is there to perfect the song.

I can play Apologize without the iPad now. I am still polishing the tune, but am so amazed how fun it was to learn this way. My YouTube teacher never ran out of patience.  In addition, having access to the knowledge via YouTube at the exact moment I needed it, along the ability to pause, rewind, and practice the notes, was key to me learning the song. YouTube is just in time learning that is powerful, purposeful, engaging, and leads to mastery. YouTube it today and learn something new!


-Ann Feldmann