Downloading Videos

I frequently come across videos on websites that I think would make a great part of a lesson, but the website is blocked by an internet filter (i.e. YouTube).  When I come across this situation, I turn to a very helpful Firefox add-on called "Video Downloadhelper." This little utility adds the ability to download to your hard drive most videos on webpages.

The add-on automatically detects when a video is present, and the three colored spheres in the logo begin to rotate. Just click on the animated spheres and you will see the name of the video file playing. Click on the file name, and the video will immediately begin downloading. On sites like YouTube, you will even be presented with different file types and video qualities for the same clip. You can then put the video file on a flash drive and use it as part of your lesson.

Video Downloadhelper

Downloading Videos from YouTube

This post is an update of a tip I provided last year. YouTube is an excellent resource for teachers looking to add multimedia content to their PPTs, flipcharts, or other presentation formats. Since YouTube contains videos that range from educational content to the bizarre to videos that are offensive, it is understandably blocked in school districts. But a teacher can still include worthwhile content discovered at home in a lesson for students by downloading the video and inserting it into the lesson content. Probably the easiest way to do this is to use Zamzar.com. In order to download the video you only need the URL of the video in question (ex. http://youtu.be/IbLz9-riRGM) and an email address. Visit Zamzar.com and click on the “Download Videos” tab and paste in the URL of the video. Choose the format you want to convert the video to since YouTube uses Flash Video as default, and enter your email address. You will shortly receive an email from Zamzar.com that contains a link to download the video. Now you can insert the video into your presentation software and watch your students become more engaged in your lessons.