Too Cool Tools

[Nick Shuman]

We all know that YouTube has good videos and bad videos, and more often than not districts block access to YouTube because of the bad. Wouldn't it be nice if we could grab the good videos from home and bring them in to school to use?

Check out www.zamzar.com

Give Zamzar the URL for a YouTube video (or any video from similar websites), choose a file format to convert the video to, provide an email address and viola! Zamzar converts the YouTube video into the format you specified and emails you when their done. Click the link in the email to access and download the video. And it's all FREE.

NOTE: I've also used Zamzar to converted .mpg and Quicktime videos into Flash files so that I can embed the videos into SMART Notebook pages.

[coakes]

Hey Nick, I think I have you on my list for an actual phone call, if you are in Kennebunk! I use http://www.keepvid.com I use this one for my youtube videos. You copy the URL, then you use the drop down menu to determine the kind of video, then download, and if successful, you will get a message to the fact you were successful, there will be an flv you can then drag to a USB< or your laptop and it will play at school.

FREE FREE, just another option.

[Nick Shuman]

Cheryl,
I had heard of keepvid.com just recently through a SMART Board podcast that I subscribe to. Both myself and teachers have already used it to convert YouTube videos to Flash and then embedded them into SMART Notebook. However, I had an instance last week where I had a Quicktime video made from iPhoto that I wanted to embed in a SMART Notebook page. Keepvid will only accept URL's for conversion, so I went to Zamzar and they saved the day.

[Ernie Easter]

Thanks guys, these are too cool tools! When you thought you were pretty comfortable with the technology someone comes along with another great idea or cool tool and your learning again!

The other thing that is nice about this is (I tried it a few minutes ago) I can have Zamzar do its thing with YouTube from home on a 56K modem and go get the video tomorrow at school on broadband. This solves a lot of problems since we (as does everyone) block YouTube.

[Alice Barr]

Thanks for the keepvid link. There are so many great videos to use in class and this is agreat way to share them!

[Nick Shuman]

Do you have a group of digital photos and want to whip up a quick slide show? Do want some cool animation and music to go with it but don't know how to put it all together? Then check out www.animoto.com

Create an account (FREE), upload your photos and arrange them any way you want, choose a piece of music from the library or upload your own, and let the site do the rest. When done you'll have a 30 second slide show that will knock your socks off! If you don't like it, make changes or simply tell the site to re-render the pieces; no two videos are the same!

Go here to view a sample: http://animoto.com/play/zkAq7efzQrwmIzVzWQnZkQ

[coakes]

Hi Nick,
I like animoto. I used it to make a school committee presentation, something they won't forget since I used salsa music! I also like www.bubbleshare.com, when you upload photos, oh, itis a free subscription!!
students can write comments, and or record comments in audio, then you can create a slide show to embed on your blog. It is pretty slick, still a favorite after 3 years.
Have a great vacation, have fun looking for new tools.
Cheryl

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

[Keith Kelley]

If you use Google Video you can "bypass" some of youtube, I unlist my stuff that I upload

and you can use embed feature to grab videos want putting them on a blog without ads and stuff around them

[Michael Arsenault]

I prefer Miro (free download) to fix this problem. Teachers can search for movies (YouTube, Google, etc.) and download them to their computer. I like using this more than online tools because I don't have to worry about bandwidth when I show the videos. The interface for Miro is very similar to iTunes and can be used to subscribe to online video podcasts as well.

[coakes]

Wow, there are so many great tools, thanks to all for sharing! Now I am off to try the ones that are new to me.
Later,
Cheryl

[coakes]

Bob just shared this on Diigo a great resource for online free documentaries, thanks Bob.
http://best.online.docus.googlepages.com/

[Bob Sprankle]

Speaking of Diigo... are people starting to use Diigo? I've been there for about 3 weeks and am loving it. Brings together many tools in one place.

Bob

[Alice Barr]

I am using Diigo, but haven't had a great deal of time to explore it yet. I think the potential for this tool is amazing!