Commentary: Learning from Fred
In this commentary, I will look at the highly popular video production of 14-year old Lucas Cruikshank, known on YouTube as Fred. With a quarter of a million subscribers (who are primarily, it seems, other kids who—unlike me—must find the unfettered quality of Fred’s juvenile humor and subject matter delightful), and with no interfering adult (or corporate) input, the fact of Fred points to the relevance, and obstacles, of YouTube for education. Yes, regular people, even kids, can (squeakily) speak as they wish and be heard without interference, but what, we must ask, can Fred teach us, and how might he lead us to learn?
Published in Teacher’s College Record, 2008-09-08
Topics: Critical Internet Studies | Pedagogy | Reviews and Journalistic Writing |