Several Resources for YouTube

It seems more and more that you can find someone to make YouTube an even more valuable tool then it already is in the classroom.  There are several websites out there that allows you to manipulate the videos to your liking for your classroom.  I had a student today tell me that they didn't use a YouTube video in a presentation because it was too long.  At that moment, I didn't even think to mention the software out there that allows you to clip a section of a video to meet your needs.  Below are resources to use in relation to YouTube.

1.) 100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers - Another one of those list from another one of those Online College websites.  Very useful though and separated into categories and subjects.  Worth taking a look at. 

2.) CaptionTube allows you to create captions for your YouTube videos.  It is free and easy to use and creates a different dynamic for the videos that you upload.  It provides a transcript for your viewers. 

3.) Clip Converter is a site that allows you to take a URL from a YouTube video (and several other sites) and convert it to several different video formats that you can choose from.  I do want to warn you though that on the main site it does mention converting Porn videos from specific porn sites, so use independently from your students and do not share it with them.  The site can be useful if YouTube is blocked at your school and you have a video that you want to share from the site. 

4.) YouTubeTime.com is a site that allows you to copy and paste a YouTube URL and then enter in the time that you would like the video to start (unfortunately it does not have an end time) and it will then provide you with a secondary link that will take you to a site to play at the moment in time you requested.  I suggest that you read the bottom of the page to realize that you can do this anyway just by adding to the original YouTube URL. 

5.) Meep is an add-on for Internet Explorer that allows you to save and download videos straight from YouTube.  Could be useful...if you are an Internet Explorer user.

Carryout Text

Carryout Text is a site dedicated to creating a simple way for you to convert text into audio.  The text is converted into an MP3 format.  This makes it very feasible to take lectures notes that you have created for students and make it into an audio file that students can listen too.  It could be very beneficial in creating a way for students who struggle with reading to have audio to following along with. 

Carryout Text is a site dedicated to creating a simple way for you to convert text into audio.  The text is converted into an MP3 format.  This makes it very feasible to take lectures notes that you have created for students and make it into an audio file that students can listen too.  It could be very beneficial in creating a way for students who struggle with reading to have audio to following along with. 

You can copy and paste text or you can upload the text from a file.  The information you provide will then be converted and will take time to do.  The time will all depend upon how long the text is.  A 412 character text (the paragraph above) took about 10 seconds.  The file will be available for 24 hours.  When the process is complete, you can play it through the web, or download the file. It provides the length and size of the file as well.

I have to tell you, I am impressed with the quality.  This could be a very useful tool for Special Education teachers.  I HIGHLY recommend sharing this with your teachers.  Hopefully when Carryout Text is no longer in beta they will have some options for educators. 

OER Commons - Open Educational Resources

OER Commons is a website that allows you to search for educational resources that have been shared on the web by educators from all over the world.  You can browse through different grade levels and subject matter.  The search results within OER Commons are very organized and easy to read through.  Many resources are for lessons that incorporate many of the web based tools that we are becoming more familiar with.  If you register for an account you can save the items that you find as well as contribute content. 

Another great feature is that not all of the resources are just for teaching subject matter.  There are several resources available for classroom management, leadership, primary sources, and educational materials.  All these can be searched through by browsing through the different categories.  Once you do a search, you can "uncheck" the areas that don't apply to your needs as well.

Another great feature for those of us that have an iPhone, you can download the iPhone App and complete searches right on your phone.