Saturday, August 18, 2007

Free to YouTube

Maybe this has happened to you. You're online at home and you run across a great video on YouTube. "This would be a great video to show my students!" You exclaim, ignoring for a moment that fact that you are talking to yourself again.

Problem is, you get to school the next morning and discover that your Internet filter blocks YouTube. You sink into depression. That great lesson you were planning is now ruined. "It's not fair!" You cry.

Stop right there! Before you give up and decide to drown your sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, consider this possible solution...

Zamzar to the rescue!

Zamzar is a handy little Web 2.0 tool that converts files and e-mails them to you. You can upload files to Zamzar, select the file format you want it to be, and Zamzar will e-mail you the converted file. But Zamzar also converts online videos!



Every YouTube video has a URL. Copy this URL and go to Zamzar.



Then...



You'll see a progress bar as the video is uploaded to Zamzar. Then you'll get a message telling you that once the video is converted it will be sent to your e-mail. A few minutes later, check your e-mail. The message will link you back to Zamzar where you can download a copy of the video to your computer.

Once you have the video downloaded, you can show that file to your class or put it in your Power Point presentations. (Be sure to give proper credit.) Since it is now a file on your computer, you don't even need to have an Internet connection to view it.


3 comments:

Dennis Grice said...

Another alternative to downloading clips is to check and see if the video is available on Teacher Tube. My school blocks YouTube, but allows videos from Teacher Tube.

Dennis Grice said...

NOTE: Zamzar really helped me out yesterday at our staff training. I wanted to show a couple of Internet safety PSA's from YouTube. These videos are great for middle schoolers and do a good job teaching them that once something is posted online, you can't take it back. Here are the links.

PSA #1
PSA #2

Dennis Grice said...

If you're at school and need to download a YouTube video, you can still use Zamzar to convert it even if YouTube is blocked. Check out Dave Kootman's latest blog to find out how.