Professor Renee Hobbs explores vlogging as it supports students' literacy and learning in a workshop offered at the Northeast Media Literacy Conference, November 10, 2018 in Providence, Rhode Island

1. What YouTubers Have to Teach Us
about Learning and Literacy
Northeast Media Literacy Conference
Providence RI
November 10, 2018
Renee Hobbs
Harrington School of Communication & Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
#mindovermedia

2. www.mediaeducationlab.com

3. • Gain knowledge about vloggers and vlogging
• Identify structural features of the vlog as a genre
• Consider the power of vlogging for literacy and learning
• Identify algorithmic features of YouTube comments that
shape viewer response
• Practice extemporaneous oral performance through the use
of a safe online platform
Goals for this Session

4. Performing a
Life
People vlog
to inform, to entertain
and to persuade others

5. Vlogbrothers
Vlogbrothers are John and
Hank Green, who use video
twice a week to share ideas
with each other and their
YouTube audience. They have
been vlogging since 2006.

6. Vlogbrothers
Addressing a specific target
audience – in this case,
talking to your brother – can
be a stylistic device that helps
extend ideas and information
to a larger audience

7. Vlogbrothers 101

8. Vloggers
Make Choices
decisions
 Self-representation: where &
how to be standing (or sitting) &
whether to include face, upper
body, or whole body in the frame.
 As producers: they make
decisions about the length of the
video and choose production
values: whether to publish their
videos as unedited video files or
edit them to include introductory &
closing sequences, music, other
video content, title credits, sound
effects & more.

13. Vlogging creates a parasocial relationship
between the host & the audience, enabling viewers to feel
emotionally and socially connected
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY:
Wiley.

14. Create to Learn: Introduction to Digital Literacy, Renee Hobbs. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4 production
techniques that
impact how a
speaker is
perceived

15. The Close Up
To achieve a sense of
emotional intimacy,
vloggers use the close‐up,
focusing attention on the
performer’s face
Because YouTube videos are
generally low resolution,
close‐ups become effective
devices to create visual
intensity

16. Direct Address
When the
performer uses
terms like “you”
while looking into
the camera, the
the role of the
viewer is
elevated
We become
directly part of

17. Camera Movement
Camera movement affects
the ethos of the
performer.
Using a selfie stick while
walking around in a city
creates a moving camera
effect.
The technique combines the
excitement of action and
unpredictability that is
appealing to viewers

18. Framing  Poor quality video
can actually make a
performance seem
more intimate
 The rough image
quality constructs
the impression of the
situation as
authentic
 Unusual framing may
suggest the private
nature of the
message, as if the
camera was only a
witness

19. Sliman, age 10
Amman, Jordan

20. Who is your favorite YouTuber?
What makes it great?

21. Who is your favorite YouTuber?
What makes it great?

22. YouTubers share their passions with others,
using a mix of communication strategies that
create the perception of authenticity and
authority

23. COMMENTS
ON
YOUTUBE

24. Learners may infer from YouTube that
being angry or mean will attract attention

26. YouTube
Comment Algorithms
1. Controversy Creates Popularity. On
YouTube, the “Top” comments are the ones
with the most replies. The comments you
see first are often the most controversial.
2. Low accountability. Unlike on Facebook,
Reddit, or Twitter, a user’s profile doesn’t
hold a collection of their comments or a list
of things they’ve commented on.
3. No searchability. Users cannot freely scroll
through comments or use search to find
comments.
4. No human moderation. There are no
rewards or punishments for making a
comment on YouTube & no human-based
comment moderation.

27. Vlogging Embodies
the Power of Performance
• In vlogging, authenticity and authority are
constructed through spoken oral performance
• Vloggers use four specific techniques to create a
parasocial relationship to build audiences for
their work
• Comments on YouTube videos are shaped by
algorithms that reward controversial replies

29. Learners can use
many forms of
media to express
their knowledge &
understanding

30. https://flipgrid.com/vlogging
Practice Vlogging Respond to the
question, “How
could vlogging be
useful for your
learners?
Provide a snappy
response in under
90 seconds, using
the 1, 2, 3 formula.

31. What vloggers are your students learning
from? How can you help students learn to
critically analyze vlogs?
What current activities
could be modified so that
students experience the
power of performance?
What potential impact might vlogging
have for learners?

32. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Co-Director, Graduate Certificate Program in Digital Literacy
Harrington School of Communication & Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
LEARN MORE
Web: www.mediaeducationlab.com