College Offers YouTube 101 Course
With classes like 'Philosophy and the Simpsons' and 'Star Trek and Religion' already being offered at various American colleges in exchange for actual credits toward graduation, a class based around YouTube was inevitable.
Alexandra Juhasz, a media studies professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California found herself generally underwhelmed by the quality of videos on YouTube, but nevertheless felt that the phenomena deserved to be studied. So, for Pitzer's fall semester Juhasz designed a course she calls 'Learning from YouTube.' Though Professor Juhasz and her students meet in a physical class room, much of the class also takes place online at the companion 'Learning From YouTube' channel. Students control most of the content and are not only encouraged to comment on the videos but also post their own. The wider YouTube population is also strongly encouraged to participate.
The course is designed to examine culture using YouTube as a kind of microscope. Juhasz also hopes the class will expose and explore issues about the site, such as the role of "corporate-sponsored democratic media expression."
Now, if only someone would come up with a mandatory class for all college students to teach how not to design a MySpace page that makes you sorry you have eyes.
From Newsvine
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Alexandra Juhasz, a media studies professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California found herself generally underwhelmed by the quality of videos on YouTube, but nevertheless felt that the phenomena deserved to be studied. So, for Pitzer's fall semester Juhasz designed a course she calls 'Learning from YouTube.' Though Professor Juhasz and her students meet in a physical class room, much of the class also takes place online at the companion 'Learning From YouTube' channel. Students control most of the content and are not only encouraged to comment on the videos but also post their own. The wider YouTube population is also strongly encouraged to participate.
The course is designed to examine culture using YouTube as a kind of microscope. Juhasz also hopes the class will expose and explore issues about the site, such as the role of "corporate-sponsored democratic media expression."
Now, if only someone would come up with a mandatory class for all college students to teach how not to design a MySpace page that makes you sorry you have eyes.
From Newsvine
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Steve @ Sep 22nd 2007 2:28PM
Now that is stupid
Steve @ Sep 22nd 2007 2:31PM
Now that is stupid
Bruce Perkins @ Oct 21st 2007 8:09AM
I certainly would like to get smarter onlline. Or is going to colledge and sitting through lectures all a farce as I have always thought, and just a waste of money.
Joe @ Dec 14th 2007 9:40AM
Pitzer is actually a very good school, one of the Claremont Colleges. I am just not so sure I would want to pay $3000 or more for my kid to take a class on Youtube.