Are Flickr and Youtube Really Good for Training and Education?

Are Flickr and YouTube really good for training and education or are they just filling a need where eLearning has failed?

Flickr and Youtube are good media sharing technologies, however pictures and videos do not define the art of teaching. Also, in addition to the fact that Flikr and Youtube are blocked at most schools and corporations, they do not provide a sound learning environment based on instructional system design or appropriate content for learning.

Students today learn through many mediums such as the teacher, books, internet, videos, music, PowerPoint, digital photos, etc. So the issue has become not “what” but “how” can teachers and students easily combine and utilize all of these media assets in the classroom and online.

I have spent the last six years with organizations and public schools trying to solve this issue. The result is a technology that allows students and teachers in the classroom to quickly and easily mash (stitch) all media types into web presentations and interactive videos. This technology is called Scate Ignite and works directly with the web service www.ignitecast.com.

Many public school districts are continuing to incorporated this new technology into their computer labs and media centers. For example Waldon Middle School in Lake Orion Mi. is using this new technology to create book reports, science projects, and even recipes in cooking class.

If you are interested in learning more please feel free to comment or tweet me at www.twitter.com/stevesadler.