Tech Tip: YouTube Tools

I was not impressed with YouTube as a tool for student learning when the site first emerged. It seemed more like a platform for self-publishing quirky personal videos than a service to use in education. However, creative educators and dedicated content providers have turned the site into a vast storehouse of educational content. Rarely a day goes by when I do not use a YouTube video as part of some lesson or activity.

A few frustrations remain with YouTube. One concern is the content that appears on a page along with the video. Comments, ads, or links to other videos may not be helpful or appropriate for the classroom. There are also times when one may want to show only a portion of a longer video, and then a teacher might have to fiddle with time duration bar at the bottom of the screen during class time.

Fortunately, tools have emerged that help educators deal with these issues. ViewPure is a service the shows YouTube videos without any of the "extra" comments. Simply copy and paste the video URL into the service and a new page with only the video emerges. ViewPure even cleanses videos of those pesky commercials that run before many videos.

TubeChop is a site which assists a teacher in showing only the targeted content of a video. Simply paste the URL into the home page of the service. A new webpage will emerge with the video and a bar at the bottom with controls that allow you to "chop" off a segment of the video. The service then "creates" a new video with only your chosen segment and even creates a unique URL for that page so the new video may be embedded into other content, such as web pages or wikis.

Give these tools a try as you identify YouTube content for your classroom.