Melissa ISD Superintendent Jason Smith had a simple idea. He wanted educators to have an easy way use the power of the Internet to help students learn.
In March of 2007, he jumped in with both feet. With the help of a brother with technical skills, he launched TeacherTube 
, an online video sharing Web site a là YouTube, to allow educators to upload videos of their best lessons, browse videos to find material to supplement their classroom lessons, and connect with other educators with similar interests.
When an educator has a tricky concept to teach, TeacherTube is likely to have a video that could help. For example, The Water Cycle Song video performed by science teachers David Bydlowski, Charles Kline, and Fred Ribits might help students remember precipitation and condensation. And for new foreign language students, two Spanish teachers put their own spin on a familiar Justin Timberlake tune to explain how verbs are conjugated.
Viewers have the opportunity to rate the videos they view on the site. For example, teacher/rapper Mr. Duey has earned high marks from viewers for his video showing students how to work with fractions. Videos that get the facts wrong or aren’t likely to hold students’ interest tend to get the lowest ratings.
But even the highly rated videos may never air in some classrooms. District leaders sometimes block access to TeacherTube and other Internet sites out of concern that the videos don’t meet the district’s content standards and are not tied to a district’s curriculum. One other potential drawback is that educators generally prefer to screen videos on a topic in advance, a potentially time-consuming step.
As with YouTube, it didn’t take long for TeacherTube to take off. The site boasts 800,000 visitors and 220,000 regular users who browse the more than 50,000 videos each month. Also like YouTube, some teachers who post videos get a modest view of what it must be like to be famous, receiving e-mail from viewers around the world.
The Web site itself is a bit of a media darling, having garnered attention from a variety of publications including The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, and The New York Daily News, to name a few.
TeacherTube’s content is free to schools. The for-profit site is supported by advertising and private investors.
