Use YouTube with More Confidence

Here we go, a follow up to a previous post. Everything in the previous post is still relevant, but since, we've learned more.

We have found more ways of 'de-cluttering' YouTube:

1. QuietTube (via Julian);

2. SafeShare.TV (via Ben).

Also, we've found more ways of downloading from YouTube:

Flash Video Downloader.

Short. To the point. Want to know more? Read the first post.

Open Source - Free Software

Open Source has a philosophy of developing and sharing software for free use. Some of this, and other free-to-use, software is useful for use in school. Here's some free-to-use software we've used:

AndreaMosaic - Make mosaic pictures using your own photographs.

GameMaker - Programming software.

GIMP - The power of Photoshop, for free.

Leonardo Sketch - A vector based drawing application.

Scratch - Well known programming software.

TUX Paint - Paint for mac, Windows & Linux. 


UPDATE 29/11/14:

PosteRazor - Make posters from images.

Tux of Math - Maths game. (via @MrLiconti)

GCompris - Educational games for children up to 10 years old. (via @MrLiconti)

Triptico - Interactive resources. 

Inkscape - Drawing software.

Sourceforge can provide a place to search for other software. Let use know if there's any other you know of that we've not included.

Note: this post was updated further on 21/01/14. Thanks for the comments.

Use YouTube with Confidence

So, there's a video on YouTube you want to show your class. But, you're worried about the comments below it, or the users' other videos that show up alongside or the videos that show up at the end. Or, may be you can't rely on your internet connection. And, if you put the video into your planning will it still be there in future years

Here are two pieces of software we use to help with all of the above:

Firstly, clea.nr is an excellent way of de-cluttering YouTube. It removes everything except the video, thus solving some of the above issues. They say: 

"That's it. We remove clutter."

Also find them online @cleanerinternet and facebook.com.

Image credit: uk.real.com

Secondly, we use RealPlayer Downloader. It's available from www.real.com and works on both Windows and Mac. What Real Player Downloader does is it allows you to download any video from YouTube (and many other websites) as a .flv file. If you are a SMART Notebook user this .flv file can be dropped into a Notebook page. From the Real website you'll also get RealPlayer Converter which will allow you to convert the file to a .m4v to place in a Keynote or on an iOS device, or convert to .wmv to place in PowerPoint. In addition to now being able to place the video directly into a presentation you'll also be avoiding all those comments and adverts, but best of all you now have a copy of the video (hopefully it has CC sharing rights) for future use.

We hope you'll be able to make use of these.

The Importance of Versatility

I really like Apple computers. I like the simplicity of the interface especially on the mobile platforms. I like the way I can take a film from iPhoto through iMovie to iDVD. I also like the way apps allow me to educate, play and explore at the same time. The thing is, I really like Windows too. I like the interface on PCs. I like the fact that I can get right into the depths of the OS and play around with it and I love Open Source software and gaming.  I have friends who have an almost religious fervour about Apple computers and I have friends who are equally zealous about Windows.

To me a computer is a tool. Sometimes I use it well, often rather badly. This is sometimes down to how well I know the software but more often than not it is down to how well the computer is working for me. 

As an educator, my job is to teach children. When I was at school we made use of a BBC Micro. When I was at college, we used Windows 95. When I started teaching, there were only a few computers i
n school and five years ago the touch screen mobile platform was only just starting.

The fact is that we cannot anticipate the sorts of operating systems and technology that our children will be working on in ten years when they leave school and go into the adult world. It is imperative that we teach children how to use the tools we give them effectively. Even more importantly we need to teach them the basic skills that you need to be able to adapt so that you can work with computers of the future. It is only by doing this that we will be able to ensure our children are prepared for the future.  Our children need to be taught to use OSX, Windows and even Linux. It is only by doing this that we can get away from people saying that they cannot use one system or another and make our children future proof as well as our hardware.

Lesson 1: Turn it off, wait thirty seconds, then turn it on.

Lesson 2: Improvise, adapt, overcome.