I’ve been puttering with the content for next week’s YouTube video for two and a half months and it’s still not written though I have a file full of notes and visuals.
I have a ton of experience with the subject but I wrestle with the same things for every script. How do I structure this program so that it is . . .
1) engaging?
2) the “right” amount of information? (I could go on for hours about it)
3) organized?
4) uses the medium of YouTube in a way that fits how knitters use it?
Because I think most of my programs don’t fit how most people use YouTube. And I’m trying figure out if that’s a problem. And if it is, am I willing to change my approach?
Maybe yes. Maybe no.
I started working with video in 1966 when I studied it at the University of Michigan and early on (1988) I recognized that it was an excellent medium for teaching knitting. That’s when I hired a professional producer and made my first 3 programs (on the BOND knitting frame) that were distributed in the US, UK, and Canada. But they were complete, long-form classes.
Then along came YouTube. It’s only a little over 10-years-old and it has been a game-changer.
- The process of knitting hasn’t changed
- Good video production value hasn’t changed
- How people learn hasn’t changed
- How people access information has changed.
My educator self is trying to figure out the best way to use this tool and so far I think . . .
- Most people (including me) go to YouTube to see a single skill DEMONSTRATED, a skill they need at that moment. Heck, I have to consult my own videos on things I don’t use often like a tubular bind-off.
- Some people (a far fewer number) go to YouTube to take a class or to understand a complete concept.
- Too many choices (of bind-offs, for example) can be overwhelming and even paralyzing. (Watch Barry Schwartz’s TED talk on too much choice)
- To demonstrate something is easy. To teach something is hard.
- I tend to teach rather than demonstrate.
- Do I need to demonstrate more on YouTube and use a different medium to teach concepts and full classes?
Please share your insights below. Any old thing that pops into your head about how you use YouTube in general. Not just my videos. How you use it to fix a faucet, for example. What helps you? Frustrates you? Do you use it differently for different subjects . . . like sometimes to learn how to make a sweater and sometimes you just want to remember how to do a provisional cast on? How/what did you learn before YouTube?
Of course by the time I get this figured out it will probably have changed. That’s OK. That’s what keeps us young(ish) right?
I find youtube very helpful to find out about certain things – be it historical or scientific or practical. I have bought knitting machines on the fly just because I was able to see enough little videos to get the gest of what they could do, how to solve issues (very helpful with ancient tools!) and what to expect of them. I have learned recipes to preserve food, how to sew certain items, and so much more. I frankly don’t know how people got on before the internet… We all had to learn from a person but if you live remote or don’t know a person with such skills, this is THE BOMB, really.
Youtube has been a great tool for me. When I was four my grandmother gave me some knitting needles and a small ball of yarn. Then she showed me how to cast on by using a loop on my thumb and how to make a knit stitch. What a mess. When I was ten I managed to make a headband to keep my ears warm. In my late thirties I fell in love with the Kaffe Fassett books and managed to make a jacket of just one color but it took about a year and somewhere I learned to create a twist in my knitting/purling. About 5 years ago, I watched the fastest knitter in the world whip up a swatch on Youtube. I watched that video over and over, but her fingers moved so fast that I couldn’t see how she knit so quickly. Then I found another Youtube video where she slowed down the movement and gave verbal instructions in knitting continental. I found Elizabeth Zimmermann’s books and practiced. I got faster and made a Tomten jacket for my grandson. I ran into your Youtube videos on the Bond machine a couple of years ago, but have not had enough room to set up my machine. I still watched all of the videos. In February I spent a month in AK with my ill mother and needed something to do. I made a size two, no seam pull over with short sleeves from one large ball of yarn and a scarf for my mother who got a pace maker and a new lease on life. Last week, I ran into the Cheryl Brunette Youtube channel and got the size 1 drop shoulder sweater course and knit my first swatch ever. Today I finished that little sweater and it might be a bit smaller than the video sample, but I am happy with it. I’ve spent 60 years learning how to knit, I’ve read books and patterns galore and practiced for long laborious hours to make something that would be worth wearing instead of giving it to the dog for a bed. Today, I can say that with the help of Youtube videos and Cheryl Brunette’s tutorial, I can knit if only in one color at this time. Thank you Cheryl.
Thank you Merry, and you are so welcome. I loved hearing your story. I still am learning more about knitting. That’s one of the things I like about it.
I use YouTube to learn things I never thought I would ever have to , or want to learn. I use YouTube to learn skills I am curious about. I use YouTube to get bits of information about subjects that peak my curiosity. I use YouTube to further skills I already have. I use YouTube to rehearse music when I was in a choir. I use YouTube to help others find information. I use YouTube to give others information. I use YouTube…just for fun. I found Cheryl Brunette on YouTube.
bjr
I strongly agree that many use Youtube to see one thing demonstrated so people can easily copy the exact thing. However, there are too many of this on Youtube now. Which one to see depends on the first few images you get. I have subscribed to your channel and have also followed the link to this site. This rarely happen to me. But why have I done that? Simply because I do not need to follow demonstrators which are already too many to choose from. I appreciate teachers and depth in knowledge. This differnciate your channel to many others and there are only a few of them on Youtube. Thank you~
Thank you for this kind comment and for taking the time to make it. People’s time is valuable. I try to respect it.