You can minimize these distractions by embedding your video into a blank webpage. Below is a screencast that demonstrates how to embed online videos.

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1. copyright infringement: it’s so easy to get videos that were posted to YouTube illegally. You can’t expect students to do their own work when you showed them a pirated video yesterday. However, I am afraid that the temptation will be too great for many teachers.
2. students waste time: YouTube is the ultimate playground for procrastinators. Students can waste class period after class period wandering through videos.
3. teachers waste time: like we’re any better- have you even been emailed that “must-see” video? Now imagine this stuff streaming into you classroom.
4. sucks up bandwidth: with everyone in the school browsing through video after video, network speeds at you school will come to a crawl.
5. inappropriate material: everything from pointless to tasteless- much of YouTube is not appropriate for school
6. here today, gone tomorrow: not all the videos on YouTube stick around forever- you might send students off on a wild goose chase that leads them to videos that you weren’t expecting
7. spam and scam: spammers and scammers are posting video all over YouTube to entice people to click over to a website that may contain viruses, malware or worse
8. lies, lies and more lies: 9/11 conspiracies, miracle water, the real truth about the Holocaust- anyone can make a high quality and convincing video for YouTube that can fill your students’ heads with lies

So given all the good that YouTube can offer, how do we deal with the obstacles listed above?

I think the Flip camcorders are a little overhyped. It might be a great little camcorder to carry in your pocket for a night out on the town but we’re not sending our students to shoot video in the clubs. If you’re looking to just record short video clips, many affordable digital cameras can do the job and you’ll be able to use that camera to take great still images too. Here are a few reasons why I don’t flip for the Flip:

• No removable battery: Yes, you can recharge it but when the Flip’s non-replaceable battery stops holding it’s charge you’re finished. School shelling out money for the Flip might think twice if they knew the Flip’s days are numbered. (UPDATE: Flip’s older model- the Ultra- uses AA batteries)
• Missing expandable memory: Need more memory? Too bad. Flip’s memory is also non-replaceable. I want a camera that you can pop memory cards in and out of.  Then you can have students record video, take out their card for editing and pass the camera on to the next group so they can start recording with another memory card while the other group is editing.
• Too expensive: starting at $150 and going up and over $200, the Flips are too expensive for their limited set of features. Instead, spend your money on a digital camera that also does video or you might want to consider spending $300 on a real digital camcorder.

If you must have a camcorder with the flip-out USB feature, check out the Kodak Zi6. This camcorder is slightly bigger but it has an expandable memory slot and macro mode. It’s powered by standard rechargeable AA batteries and it comes with a free charger. The Zi6 is a little cheaper too.

Check out these video reviews to see how the Zi6 compares to the Flip models.

I think it’s time for schools to take another look at YouTube’s use in the classroom.  Here are a few reasons why we should let YouTube into our schools:

1. viewing is easy: there are a lot of video sharing websites out there, but YouTube makes the experience simple and seamless
2. uploading is easy: posting videos to YouTube is incredibly easy, no need to worry about file formats and frame rates
3. great content: sure there are dogs on skateboards but YouTube also hosts an impressive amount of top-notch material
4. it’s become mainstream: From Barack Obama’s weekly addresses to videos from Britian’s Royal Family- everyone is using YouTube
5. inspires creativity: as the the premiere site for user generated video, YouTube demonstrates the creativity that the world has to offer
6. learn from feedback: learning doesn’t just stop after a video is posted, a steady stream of comments on your video can provide more opportunities to learn
7. gives people a voice: tools like YouTube, “…make it easier than ever for people to make a difference and become civically engaged” ^[2]
8. the real problem still exists: blocking YouTube doesn’t stop inappropriate video from being circulated in school via cellphones, email or other video sharing web sites

However, I think I’ve found a better solution. More and more content is being put online for viewers to watch on demand. I think the service that does this best is Hulu.com.

At Hulu, you can find clips and full episodes of many of your favorite shows. They have movies too. It is only a matter of time before this method of delivering content becomes the norm.

One of the best things about Hulu, is that they allow you to pick the start and end time for the clip you want use.

This works for some movies too.

With clips that are relevant and entertaining, we can now demonstrate concepts from our curricula with precision and ease. Get started by creating your own clips at Hulu.

In physics we investigated a video that claimed six volt lantern batteries contain 32 AA batteries. My students began to see if this was possible. I gave them the challenge of designing a circuit that used 32 AA (1.5 volt) batteries but still produced an output of six volts. With the help of an online circuit simulator, students were able to design the circuit. However, after measuring the volume of a lantern battery and a AA battery, students realized that the 32 AAs take up more space than one six volt lantern battery has to offer.

Viral video lessons do three important things:

• use media that students find attention-grabbing and familiar
• raise interest and give purpose to examinations and investigations
• teach skepticism so students can spot rip-off artists and scammers

Viral videos are a perfect way to engage students. After all, the videos were designed to capture people’s attention. So the next time you see a video that makes you say, “no way” bring it into class.

Today we can avoid problems like this by ripping and editing DVDs. Ripping is the process of copying audio or video content from a CD or DVD to your computer’s hard disk. Once it is on your computer, you can trim and edit the DVD’s content down to something more appropriate and meaningful for the classroom.

As a physics teacher, I’ve done this when I wanted to show several clips from several different movies in one class period. It would be impractical to spin up each DVD (especially the ones that have previews that are almost impossible to get around). Instead, I put all the clips I want on one disc.

To get started, you’ll need to first BUY THE DVD. Seriously, don’t steal movies. If you use it for class, then buy it for class. If you copy DVDs that don’t belong to you, then you’re basically telling your students that it is okay to plagiarize, cheat and steal.

Next, you’ll need to find software that will rip your DVD. Tekzilla, a technology question and answer show, did a round-up and review of DVD ripping software. (Fast-forward to 7 mins and 29 sec to learn more.) I’ve been using DVD Shrink to rip my DVD’s. Not only does it allow you to copy the DVD to your computer, but DVD Shrink also lets you change the size of the files by recompressing the video or removing the extra audio tracks. It even has the option to trim video clips. So when an actor like Ben Stein does something nutty, you can just cut him out when you make a backup copy of your favorite movie. Ahhhh, now I can watch Ferris Bueller again.

Lastly, you’ll need to burn the new files back to DVD. For this you’ll need a computer that has a DVD burner. Of course, you could also put your clips on a USB flash drive and just play them with something like VLC Media Player.

Happy ripping!

My Wi-Fi connection at Darwin Day wasn’t as strong as I had hoped but I was still able to broadcast the event and Ustream.tv even stored the video for later viewing. Below you can see Brian Bartel (from explodingsink.com) kick-off the event.

You will need to use software to flip the image since the mirror creates… well, a mirror image. I used the trial version of iGlasses from Ecamm.com. For only ten dollars, iGlasses will also allow you to zoom and pan, adjust brightness and change the colors.

If you’re not in the mood to build your own brackets and cut up mirrors, Ecamm sells the Huckleberry. The Huckleberry has durable plastic mounting brackets and an acrylic mirror. It sells for twenty dollars and comes with iGlasses. (I would have purchased this myself if it wasn’t out-of-stock when I needed it.)

Many camcorders will work with Ustream.tv too. A camcorder will give you a high quality video and it’s perfect if you’re planning to broadcast regularly from a fixed location—like a classroom! Below is video stream from Brian Bartel’s class last week on what he calls Combustion Day.

Students were asked to create a video that:

• was at least ten seconds
• contained at least two seconds of constant acceleration
• had a Halloween theme

I gave the students a handout with a time line, guidelines, rubric and some suggestions for a successful project. Students created the videos using Windows Movie Maker and uploaded them to Brightcove.tv (YouTube is blocked at our school). I used Jing to provide students with screencasts that explained how to use Movie Maker and Brightcove.tv.

After the videos were created, students used a video analysis program (LoggerPro) to analyze and confirm the acceleration.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I assigned this project but I was truly shocked by all of the amazing videos that my students produced.

Here is an example:

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See all the videos here.

1. plain old html outline
2. video of the presentation at Google Video
3. presentation slides at SlideShare
4. video synchronized with slides at Zentation

Zentation appears to be the best tool. Synchronizing was a little quirky at times but the final product was worth the effort. They provide a variety of ways to embed your presentation on your own site. I choose their small Flash-based version below.