▲ What do you think about the teacher’s vlog activities?

Recently, many teachers have been recording video clips in classrooms for their vlogs. A vlog is a combination of the words "video" and “blog” that refers to a video that records daily life. If people search “teacher school vlog” on YouTube, they can see many videos of teachers from elementary school to high school on YouTube. Some videos have millions of views. In the meantime, teacher’s vlogs are causing a stir among netizens.

On the 19th, a petition was posted on the Blue House’s online public petition board to ban teachers from recording video clips in classrooms for their vlogs. The petitioners worried about the risk of students being exposed in public videos when teachers post their vlog on YouTube. The petitioner added, “A teacher is an authority figure in the classroom. Even if students don’t want to be part of a public video, it is difficult for them to express their discomfort to the teacher as an authority figure. Students are worried about negative effects on their school record, a document they must submit to future schools to apply for early admissions.

Under the current law, teacher vlogs are not illegal. According to guidelines from the Ministry of Education, the ministry encourages YouTube activities if they are related to education such as videos to share examples of educational activities. Also, teachers can carry out YouTube activities that demonstrate creative activities in private life, such as hobbies and leisure activities. However, considering the broad audience of YouTube, in which videos can be viewed by an unspecified number of people, uploading violent or sexually suggestive videos is prohibited. Also, if they meet the requirements to get ad revenue on YouTube, teachers have to receive approval from their principal. Currently, the minimum requirement to get ad revenue on YouTube is more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time on YouTube. As can be seen from the guideline, teacher’s YouTube activities are not illegal, but there is still controversy around the subject.

School teacher vlogs are also a hot button topic among Changwon University students. According to a survey conducted by The Campus Journal, 51.8% of the students said they have positive feelings about the teacher vlogs. For that reason, one student said, “It can be an important experience for students who dream of becoming teachers to experience jobs vicariously through teacher vlogs.” Also, Ha Seung-hoon, majoring in the Department of special education, said, “Teachers have the freedom to watch and post videos on YouTube, but they should take responsibility for the problems caused by their activities,” adding, “Teachers should protect student’s personal information and do everything they can to not be careless.”

On the other hand, some argue that teachers recording video clips in classrooms for their vlogs should be banned because it can have negative effects on students. In addition, they argue that students’ personal information can be disclosed, and the quality of the classes could be compromised. Also, there is a student who pointed out that teachers did not ask for their students’ permission to record videos. Kim So-yul, majoring in the Department of business administration, said, “There are teachers who refuse to delete videos even if they don’t have the consent of students. That’s why I have a negative opinion of teacher vlogs.”

Among Changwon University students, there is an argument about the pros and cons of teacher’s vlogs. However, if teachers try to protect student’s rights, there is no doubt that YouTube content created by teachers can be of educational value. For example, the channel “Taxpayer Students” shows students developing economic knowledge by engaging in class currency activities, which has received rave reviews. In part because students can get hands-on experience of economic knowledge which they have learned from the textbook and their faces are all blurred out to protect their rights. The most important thing is how teachers use YouTube. In some ways students are reflections of their teachers, so if teachers use YouTube in the right way, students will grow up to be the right media user.

By Park Yu-jeong, cub-reporter  parkyujeong01@naver.com

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