Becoming a Good BookTuber

Abstract

Audiovisual platforms like YouTube facilitate the introduction of informal learning practices for their pedagogical exploitation both in class and online. One such practice is the creation of a BookTuber community for recommending books, thus making it possible for students to engage in an out-of-class community where common interests can be shared. In this innovations in practice article, we present a project carried out with two English for Specific Purposes (ESP) groups of Media Studies of the University of Barcelona. The aim of this project was to determine features that make a BookTuber a good communicator so students could apply these features to their own BookTube video practice. Students could then use these features as a guideline for peer-review comments published on YouTube and the creation of an online BookTuber community. Students were first introduced to the concept of intertextuality in order to understand how it fosters connections among audiovisual consumers. The BookTuber community was then presented and the students viewed and analysed several BookTube videos with the objective of creating an evaluation rubric identifying the key aspects of a good BookTuber. The students then created their own BookTube video and uploaded it onto YouTube. They were also required to watch at least two videos created by their peers, post comments that considered key aspects included in the evaluation rubric and express their personal reactions to and opinions of the videos. In addition, an extended version of the peer-review was also required to achieve subject credits. This twofold feedback allowed for the practice of two discourse styles for the same content: informal (for YouTube) and formal (for the teacher). As a result, students had firsthand experience of becoming a BookTuber while developing their critical thinking skills for peer evaluation and academic and professional purposes of career development.

‘Booktuber: promoting reading and literacy in the classroom among Spanish pre‐service teachers through a video review’

“…Works such as those by Ibarra‐Rius and Ballester Roca (2017), Rovira‐Collado (2017), Torralba Miralles (2018) Suárez and González Argüello (2020), Bustos León (2019), and Morales‐Sánchez et al (2021) are clear examples of the implementation of the Youtube phenomenon in the classroom to develop reading practices in EFL. These authors carried out their research using Booktrailers or Booktuber videos and, thus, I have drawn from their studies to elaborate my own: (1) constructing digital narratives (Ibarra‐Rius and Ballester Roca, 2017); (2) fostering reading habits among undergraduates (Bustos León, 2019; Rovira‐Collado, 2017; Torralba Miralles, 2018); (3) project structure (phases and objectives), Suárez and González‐Argüello (2020 and Morales‐Sánchez et al, 2021) on the basis of the new literacies approach (Lankshear and Knobel, 2011).…”

“…Morales‐Sánchez et al (2021, p. 69) points out that the presence of literature in Youtube has developed over recent years and she dates the beginning of this literary presence on the platform back to 2010 when Javier Ruescas started to promote his novels on YouTube (Morales‐Sánchez et al, 2021, p. 69). Ruescas' participation opened the door for new formats to encourage the reading of a book or the review of a book through a digital design (Rovira‐Collado, 2017; Morales‐Sánchez et al, 2021, p. 69, Davies and Merchant, 2009), from that moment it became a ‘boom’ reaching its peak in 2012 (Suárez and González Argüello, 2020, p. 159). Among the educational formats that one can find on the Youtube channel, one can notice two new concepts to work on the practice of reading: Booktrailer and Booktuber, both ‘closely linked to the promotion of reading’ (Rovira‐Collado, 2017, p. 56), allowing individuals to share reading experiences through the net, since, from the didactic viewpoint, as expressed by Suárez and González Argüello (2020, p. 158): ‘Audiovisual platforms like Youtube facilitate the introduction of informal learning practices for their pedagogical exploitation both in class and online’ (Suárez and González Argüello, 2020, p. 158).…”

“…Regarding informal learning styles, it consists of the elaboration of a repository to share videos in which a wide range of books of different genres are recommended by young adults to promote literature. In this manner, students can ‘engage in an out‐of‐class community where common interests can be shared’ (Suárez and González Argüello, 2020, p. 158). As for the formal style, it consists of writing a formal text to be shown in class in front of both the teacher and peers.…”

Youths' Digital Literacy Skills: Critical Thinking to Participate in Elections

“…Digital literacy skills are intended so young people can carry out their digital activities healthily and intelligently. Digital literacy skills include creativity, critical thinking, sociocultural understanding (Churchill, 2020), information curation, e-safety (Kateryna et al, 2020), practical and functional skills, and also proficient communication (Suárez & González Argüello, 2020). Reflecting on cases of negative campaigns, black campaigns, and hate speech in the case of general elections, critical thinking skills are the primary key so that these incidents do not occur.…”

“…Reflecting on cases of negative campaigns, black campaigns, and hate speech in the case of general elections, critical thinking skills are the primary key so that these incidents do not occur. Connecting it with several elements that support digital literacy in terms of available choices measured from digital skills, ethics, safety, and culture (Suárez & González Argüello, 2020). For example, the issue of hoaxes related to the black campaign in voters is very much scattered.…”