YouTube and Students

By now, we are all aware that YouTube is blocked for our students. If you've ever spent any amount of time ON YouTube, you're well aware that there is too many videos that are not appropriate for our students--either at home OR school.

However, there are also a lot of educational videos that ARE appropriate for our students. Khan Academy, a well known online tutorial uses YouTube to store his wonderful creations. We as educators can also create our own movies with our smart phones and upload to our YouTube channel (yes, all employees of our GAFE district has their own channel). Students cannot access videos on their student accounts

Is there a way to get around that?

Why yes, there is!

At the point of this blog, KeepVid is down. I suspect an update, or overloaded server. Above is a YouTube video demonstrating the ease of use for KeepVid. After you download the YouTube video, save it to your Google Drive (GAFE has unlimited storage). choose to "share with anyone who has the link", then post the link in your Google Classroom when you create an assignment.

There are a plethora of websites that offer to download movies from YouTube, Vimeo, and a slew of others. The one I used mainly was KeepVid.com. It's simple enough to use. There are others I have not tried. If you're inclined to check them out, please let us know your thoughts on them! Here's a partial list. 

Enjoy!

Explain Everything

One of my favorite apps when I was in the classroom was called Explain Everything. Available for Android, iOS and Windows, this app allows teachers to quickly create a video recorded whiteboard lesson to share online.

There is a free version as well as a paid version, and I wholeheartedly recommend the $2.99 paid version. There's animation, loads of editing tools, and a 1-2 click option to upload to YouTube, or to simply save on your device. For schools that block the YouTube app, try uploading to SchoolTube (registration first). If you're a GAFE district, simply save the video to your Google Drive, and link the movie from there.

I used Explain Everything mainly for math, but it can be used in other subject areas. It's quicker to do a video tutorial of "how to solve for a variable" than it is to demonstrate it in class. Between disruptive behavior, interruptions from outside sources, I was lucky to get a full 15 minutes of "how to" time. I would create and save the video ahead of time, then play it for the class. The students knew they could log into our Google Classroom later and see the video again. The video was about 3 minutes vs the 15 minutes I never seemed to have.

Stick Pick

Okay, so maybe you're not an iOS user. Maybe you're more of a Droid person, or simply just a Kindle person. Stick Pick has you covered. For $2.99 on iOS, Droid or Kindle, Stick Pick is like a Popsicle app on steroids. Like most similar apps, you add your students' names to the sticks and can select at random. However, Stick Pick goes a little further than that. It gives you options and examples of H.O.T. questions you can lead in with for reading comprehension (sorry math teachers! No mathematical lead in questions yet) You can set each individual student to Bloom's, Bloom's revised or ESL, or simply to just select the stick. If you choose to have the question lead in, you can mark that student as correct/incorrect, feedback from a 1-5.

I'll admit, it takes a bit more of a set up than the simpler apps, but the return is well worth it. Using the Bloom's or Bloom's revised section, you're able to record your feedback for later on when you have to input the information onto forms and other paperwork teachers are required to fill out. Great companion!

Teachers Pick

I am so excited! I get to use my Teachers Pick app again this year! For the last couple of years, I had been in a lab where I saw almost 800 students each week. There weren't really any small intimate groups where I felt I could utilize this app.

The Teachers Pick app (.99 cents or $1.99 in iTunes) are digital Popsicle sticks that help the teacher remember who's been called on and who hasn't. A neat feature is that the teacher can decide to choose someone that's already been called, or simply to go through the roster until everyone has had a chance. There are benefits to either way.

For my small groups, I lay my iPhone in the center of our gathering spot--table, floor, desks, wherever we are, and ask the question. They eagerly  await to see who the app will pick to answer the question. Another thing I do with small groups, is that, if they DON'T call out the answer unless it's their turn, they receive a paw-buck. (PBiS), reinforcing the positive behavior of not all talking at once.

I feel like I've come home again. The best of both worlds have fallen into my lap this year. The students are precious, allowing me to teach, and I can utilize my apps again to help enhance our classroom management and academics. Try Teacher's Pick. I think you'll like it!