Have you ever posted a YouTube video and wished you could control its playback for students watching it at the same time?
SocialVision has recently rolled out a new feature (free!) that allows you to watch YouTube videos synchronously with others. Called YouTube Social, this new element allows the person who initiates a social invite to control playback (pausing, skipping around in the video, etc.) for other remote viewers in their own private viewing session. This could be a great addition for synchronous distance learning sessions, or even in a teaching lab situation where students are each sitting at their own workstation. Within the YouTube Social browser window, there is also a text-based chat frame, allowing viewers to share their feedback on the video with other live viewers. Control of the video playback can also be passed around to viewers, which could be a great opportunity for interactive dialogue on the video’s content.
To initiate a YouTube Social session, you only need to include “social” in the original URL of the YouTube video, before the “.com”. For example, a TTL video posted on YouTube on using the Sympodiums in eClassrooms goes from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtCG5jan8IE to http://www.youtubesocial.com/watch?v=qtCG5jan8IE.
See for yourself!
Want to have your own social viewing party? More information on YouTube Social.