Week 2 Homework

The set homework this week is to create a YouTube channel, learning the practicalities of setting up a portal into YouTube on a blog, embedding the links to the relevant videos watched. 

Three topics have to be chosen, illustrating the learning outcomes of (a) a task (how to...) ; (b) a question (why is...; and (c) a concept (explain...). Let's try this then, in the following areas of interest:

How to change a washer on a tap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMaFmHBrpy4

Why do leaves fall?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuuEB0sb804

Explain Joyce's Ulysses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI7ZnHIF0Xo

YouTube appears most admirably suited as a learning medium in regard to practical hands-on matters, as illustrated by the chosen topic of 'How to change a washer on a tap'; where the visual act of 'seeing' something done can then be applied - having literally seen the thing actually done - to whatever practical matter applies, from repairing taps and engines, to building things to the size of houses, to learning to play musical instruments and particular guitar tunes for example. We learn by example, predominantly, seeing things done. Reading the same construction by text in an 'instruction manual' just complicates and very often obfuscates the task in hand. 

YouTube can certainly be employed to answer questions (why...) though it appears (at first glance) to be far less useful (far less adept) in the field of explaining scientific principles. The biological field of 'leaf senescence' chosen here by way of example is so much better illustrated (or so it seems to me) by the institutional conventions and traditions of lecturing and studious independent reading about the subject in the relevant scientific literature. I have been reliably informed, however, that YouTube is useful as a learning tool for students in the realm of Psychology. 

Learning about the Arts (I am thinking here of Literature) may well be best conveyed through the comprehensive medium of YouTube, giving the broadest spectrum of learning opportunities far more expansively than the 'restrictive' (more rigidly defined) practices of the Sciences. YouTube, nevertheless, even in the Arts, is no substitute for reading. 

In summary, in general, my first impression is that YouTube as a learning medium works best when it comes to demonstrating practical 'tasks' (how to do things) and perhaps also in regard to 'concepts' (explaining things) and clearly YouTube also has a function in answering all manner and kinds of 'questions', whatever question is addressed to it. If there is a weakness (I must emphasise that at this point in the proceedings I am not necessarily claiming that there is) that 'weakness' may reside in explaining to the 'viewer' the concepts inherent in the Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, et cetera). 

There you go then. The above was accomplished in a rush, in the last half hour (sorry about that, Stefano). It serves to represent my initial critical assessment of the usefulness of employing YouTube in learning, at least. Whether this most recent blog comprises the obligatory weekly '300 words' as demanded, I have no immediate way of knowing. Whatever, I feel that I'm becoming more adept at this, more confident in navigating, and have a growing sense that I might indeed (eventually) one day become a blogger...

Introducing myself

Hi everyone, 

Call me 'Og'. Short for 'Ogmore'. 

Ogmore-by-Sea is a small coastal community in South Wales, in Mid-Glamorgan. Where my Mam and Dad went on their honeymoon a long time ago, shortly after the War, after their meeting and marriage in York. Conceived in a field in Heslington on the outskirts of York (now the site since the 1960s of the main campus of the University of York), and was born in the small market town of Bridgend (Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr) in Glamorgan, on the left bank of the River Ogmore. They named their son 'Terence' (apparently after the playwright Terence Rattigan, my Mam has recently informed me) and this name remained as my main appellation for three decades when - unfellowed, friendless and alone by then, exiled as I was in a foreign country, England - I decided to acquire more of a Welsh (more of a strange) identity. And 'Ogmore' (the place, the river) seemed a suitably outlandish name for an odd fellow like me, and so it became my name. It's remained with me ever since my return to York, as one of my several aliases. I use it regularly, though I have to say usually outside a Welsh setting. There you go then, start again, hi everyone, let me introduce myself to you, I'm 'Terence' to most, 'Ogmore' to others; and - most familiarly - I'm known as 'Og' to a few, those who come close to me.

Lived in Bridgend, Swansea, Bristol, Leeds York, Essex and several other places beyond these places, I mean in the British Isles, ending up latterly in Bangor, North Wales, Gwynedd. Came here (hereabouts) primarily to climb the Welsh mountains, the 3,000ft mountains of Snowdonia (the Glyderau, Carneddau and Snowdon Hills), striding across ridges and aretes, reaching all the airy summits, breathless with awe and wonder, always standing alone, wandering about, wondering about life, and on occasion writing down these rambles and scrambles. Later, with my daughter, I set out to explore life on remote islands, the Scottish Islands, on the West Coast of Scotland, travelling by express Virgin trains and ScotRail and slow Caledonian MacBrayne ferry father out to the Inner and Outer Hebrides (the Western Isles, the Long Island). My favourite destinations became the Isle of Harris (North & South) and (the dot at the bottom of that long archipelago) Barra. Written a lot, and kept an eclectic collection of hundreds of accounts of these travels here and there (travelogues). Blogging (this course) represents (perhaps represented, I'm using the past tense regretfully) a way of 'sending' these attempts at non-fictional literary creative writing to a much wider audience, getting feedback, getting a 'following' out there, getting 'published'. Heading in a different direction, very possibly. So, here goes, I'm about to choose a subject to concentrate on as a 'blogger', to fulfill the requirements of this course. Let's begin ... I've researched what learning blogs are available (the first task of week 1 set for us) (well, to the rather limited extent of looking at speed through Stefano's Blog's 'Useful Resources', and independently finding a few others) and I am now in the process of the second task, namely 'creating a blog post with three learning blogs explaining the strength and the weakness of each blog'. Chosen subjects, let's see: the local weather; prostate; and creative writing. Where to look I really don't yet know, but what the heck here goes:(1) The weather. This is Donald Perkins' most impressive fully comprehensive quotidian up-to-date weather pages contained within which is much much more besides (reference to local natural history, for example) for Llansadwrn, Anglesey, www.llansadwrn-wx.info/ but hang on a minute, this is a webpage isn't it, not a blog? Oh dear, I'm lost already. Quick search again, on Google, and lo and behold here's one, a 'blog', as required of we small band of inchoate bloggers needing to provide evidence of our on-line competence in this matter to our blogging tutor, from the desk of BBC weatherman Derek Brockway, though I now notice that this particular 'weather blog' at first glance seems to be way out of date, the latest post being dated 2015 which is far too outdated to be considered a current (a relevant) blog: www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/ae41f9b4-b60f-4c89-a755-dc522f1ff925. Another subject required, I'm desperately trying to find a representative 'learning blog' here.(2) Prostate. A breakthrough, at last. Found a webpage entitled 'The 11 Best Prostate Cancer Blogs of 2016', at www.healthline.com/health/prostate-cancer/best-blogs-of-the-year. Just the kinda blog I'm looking for. Will return to this source material later. Thirdly (the third 'learning blog' we've been asked to provide):(3) Creative Writing. Dr Kathy Hopewell's blog, associated with and an extension of her Creative Writing classes at Bangor University. Kathy blogs at www.freewriterscompanion.com. In fact, this is the best example I can give; for the time being at least. I am impressed by each and all of the blogs that I've somewhat randomly encountered so far, and in fact I have to admit that right now I'm left bewildered by how it's actually 'done', technically speaking, to set up blogs like this. I'm really not yet in a position to critically comment on the strengths and the weaknesses of each blog that I've viewed, at this stage, as demanded. This, I'm sure, will come later. I'm just woffling here, you understand, simply to increase and attain the requisite word count. Though I can appreciate already - even at this stage - that 'blogging', though but a social medium primarily, has great potential for learning, for e-learning...