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Teachers’ lessons go viral on education video web site

Just as YouTube gave regular people a stage to become famous, teachers are now sharing videos and gaining attention beyond the confines of their classrooms, reports the Dallas Morning News. "Once I put my videos online, I started getting eMails from people all over the world," said Doug Valentine, an elementary school librarian whose online persona is Dr. Loopy, a goofy scientist who teaches kids about everything from igneous rocks to the water cycle. "People are using it in class. Kids even find me." Thousands of teachers are sharing videos on a web site called Teacher Tube, started in March 2007 by Jason Smith, 39, the superintendent of Melissa Independent School District in rural Collin County, Texas, and his brother Adam, 29, an engineer. Teacher Tube now has about 220,000 regular users, more than 54,000 videos, and is averaging about 800,000 visitors to the site every month. Doctor Loopy’s numerous videos have received more than 341,000 hits. It’s a long reach from Smith’s tiny school district with only 1,100 students. Jason Smith said he wanted to create a place for teachers to model their lessons. "It is allowing teachers from all over the world to share with each other and learn from one another," he said. "We want to create a grassroots movement in transforming how teachers teach and students learn." Teacher Tube is just one example of how social-networking web sites are changing education. Other similar include School Tube, which is aimed more at kids producing videos, and Curriki, where teachers share lesson plans…

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