Reflect on the User Interface (UI)
The homepage is laid out with an array of videos showing a title paired with a thumbnail. It first shows videos recommended based on your watch history, but also gives suggestions by genre. (Music videos, podcasts, etc.) Along the top of the page their is the sight name being a button to the homepage as well as a search bar for the sight. The left side of the page contains options for finding videos, example being videos, shorts, and channels you’ve subscribed to. Hovering your cursor over a thumbnail will play a short snippet of the video to give a preview of whats to come. Next to the title of videos you are also able to select ‘Not interested’ and ‘dont recommend this channel’ if you would like to filter out any content you don’t want to see.
Reflect on the User Experience (UX)
The great thing about YouTube is that you can tailor your suggestions and what you watch based on what you like and what you like to see. It makes it easy to search for specific videos types as well as find new things through suggestions and recommendations. The UI feels simplistic and not crowded, leaving the bulk of the attention to the videos shown to you. Personally I think the wide range of video types allows me to use it YouTube for various scenarios. For example I can put on something for entertainment while I relax, watch an educational video that tied to a class or just for me, listen to meditation instruction, possibly even use it as a tool to record a video and share information with others.
Reflect on How this Resource Might Impact or Support Digital Wellness
The benefit of daily apps varies from person to person, depending on individual needs and preferences. Apps can be beneficial for tasks like communication, productivity, entertainment, and learning. For example, social media apps can help you stay connected with friends and family, while productivity apps can enhance your work efficiency. YouTube can be used for entertainment and learning, but lacks many communication or productivity aspects. Although you can certainly learn productivity skills through YT. Some apps I use daily would include a calorie/macro tracker, I use some social media everyday, and probably some calendar apps/time apps. I would say they are mostly beneficial, with social media probably leaning away from beneficial. Modeling digital wellness to students is essential to help them develop healthy online habits. Some ways we could do that would be to set an example. Demonstrate responsible app usage and balance. Teach students about the importance of digital well-being, the potential risks of excessive screen time, and strategies to maintain a healthy online/offline balance.
Reflect on the Accessibility of the Application or Tool You Chose
We will be diving deeper into this topic next week, but for now, just consider the following: Is the content easy to read? If there are videos, are they captioned? Are there multiple language options? Does it work with or have a screen reader? Is it free?
YouTube's content is primarily video-based, making it highly visual and less text-based. YouTube offers closed captioning (subtitles) for many videos to enhance accessibility for the hearing-impaired, and some videos have multiple language options. YouTube does have a paid version, that gives access to no adds and some additional perks. Other than that it is free to use and access all the videos on the sight, excluding the premium only.
Reflect on the Ways in which Being Aware of Digital Design and Digital Wellness Could Benefit You as a Teacher?
Awareness of digital design and digital wellness offers many benefits to teachers. It lets educators create engaging and effective educational materials, making learning more accessible and enjoyable for students. Understanding digital design principles can promote accessibility, ensuring that all students can benefit from the materials