There are a couple of ways to do this depending on what Internet browser you use.  The easiest way is to use a website to download the video.  There are a couple out there, this is one I have used most recently because it does many different kinds of video, not just those from You Tube.

Here’s How:

1. Find a You Tube video you would like to save, highlight and copy the URL. (Ctrl + C)
2. Go to this website: http://keepvid.com and paste the URL in the box (Ctrl + V) and click the “Download” button.
3. A new box will open up, click the “Download Link” and save it to a location you can find later. (i.e. your Desktop)
4. The file will download and be called “get_video.flv”.
5. To rename the file, right click on the file, choose “Rename” type a different name, just make sure it ends in .flv (This means it’s a flash file)
6. The file is now downloaded and can be played on your computer if you have a flash player installed.

If you don’t have a flash player, the next post will give you a source for a free one.  If you want to use it in a Power Point presentation, you’ll need to convert it to a .wmv file.  That will be the final post in this series

Now that you have your flash file, you can do a couple of things with it. If you want to simply view or show it, you need to have a flash video player installed on your computer. There are many good ones out there, the one I prefer is called VideoLAN. The reason I like this particular tool, is with it you can view many different types of video files, it’s Open Source (Read: FREE), and with it you can convert a flash video into a Windows Media File.  There is more information about that in the third part of this post.

Here is the link to download VideoLAN.

In order to embed the video you have created into a Power Point presentation, you first need to convert it to a .wmv file. All movies need to be in that format to play well with Power Point.

I have created a video tutorial to show how to do that with a program I talked about earlier, VideoLAN.
Assuming you have downloaded that program, click the tutorial link below, there is also a .pdf file of the steps needed to convert a file using VideoLAN.

Converting Flash Video Tutorial

Converting Flash Video .pdf

When that step is complete, you can simply go to the page in Power Point you want to embed the video and follow these steps.1. Select “Insert” then “Movies and Sounds” then “Movie From File”
2. Browse to the file you want to embed and select “OK”
3. It will ask if you want it to play automatically or when clicked, I suggest “When Clicked”.
4. Test your slide to make sure everything works!

Let’s say you have a .mov file and you want to embed it into a Power Point Presentation it needs to be in .wmv format, so what do you do?  Perhaps you have a file in iPod (m4a) format and want to play it on a regular mp3 player, then what?   There are many ways to convert files from one file type to another, but I discovered a new one at MACUL this year I really think fits to bill. It’s an online website, so you no longer have to download a program onto your computer.  The site is found at www.zamzar.com.  Basically, you browse to the file you want to convert, select the format you want it converted to, enter an e-mail for the link to be sent to (You may want to use a free e-mail account for this part to avoid spam), then download your final product.

This site is so easy to use, I won’t do any explination here, just check it out and you will be pleased with your results!

Here are some links to MACUL related sites, etc.

MACUL’s main web site – http://www.macul.org

MACUL blog – http://macul.edublogs.org

MACUL Space (a ning site) – http://maculspace.ning.com

MACUL 2008 Conference photos – http://www.flickr.com, search for macul2008

also see reactions to the MACUL 2008 conference at http://technorati.com/blogs/macul.edublogs.org?reactions

At Fruitport we are having an issue with comment spam on our blogs. To combat this, I have installed the Askimet spam plug-in. It seems to be working well.

The first step is to download and install the plug in.  You can get it by going here: http://akismet.com/download/

Next, you need to copy this file into the plugins folder found in your wp-content folder. Remember to activate the plugin before you tell your staff about it.

Once that is complete, you can check out the next post for information on how to release it to your staff.

This is how to share this information with your staff and how they can set up Akismet for their blog:

Step One: Get a Wordpress.com API Key
Your staff will have to register for a username at Wordpress.com to get an API Key. (Click Here to access the site.)
Click the “Sign Up Now” button.
Fill out the “User Name, Password, Confirm, and E-Mail” boxes. (Use your school e-mail addresss)
Check the “I Agree” box.
Select the choice that says “Just a User Name Please”.
An Email with your API Key will be sent to the account you signed up with.

Step Two: Enable the Akismet Plugin
Log in to your blog.
Click the plugins link on the menu bar.
Click the link that says “Activate” to the right of the Akismet box.

Step Three: Enter your API Key
Open the e-mail from Wordpress.com.
Copy your API key by highlighting the whole thing and choosing [Ctrl]+[C].
Click the “Plugins” link on the menu bar, then select the “Askimet Configuration” tab.
Paste the API key in the box provided by clicking [Ctrl]+[V].
Click the “Update Options” button.

You are all set to start to combat “Comment Spam”.
Read the Combating “Comment Spam” Part II to learn how to use this plug-in

I’m back home, and with the kids safely tucked in, I have time to reflect on a busy, yet meaningful day at MACUL. I continue to be amazed at the magnitude of teachers and school leaders who are interested in how technology can positively impact instruction. As you can see in this picture submitted to the MACUL blog by Michael Porter, this is no small conference (click on the picture for a larger view). And if school budgets were not so strained, I have no doubt we would see more participants.

I enjoyed blogging from the conference today. There was a price to pay, carrying a laptop with an extra battery for added weight (and time), but well worth the effort. There is so much more I would love to share, but after a few years of experience, I know it is not wise to dump everything on everyone in one load. We simply can’t absorb it all. I’m still trying to absorb it all. In the coming days, I hope to share more ways to utilize technology in our quest to engage students.

I appreciated the posts that Diane also added to the blog today, and I find it amazing she found the time with all of her duties associated with being one of the conference organizers. I have full confidence that next year, with Diane serving as the MACUL president, it will be another great year for the state’s elite educational technology organization.

I will not be blogging from MACUL on Friday as I have responsibilities in the local district to complete. Nonetheless, I look forward to hearing more positive reports on the impact of technology.

Digital Storytelling has been popular for a few years now, but I appreciated how Ladd Skelly emphasized the importance of preparation. It’s not about the technology – its the content, the collaboration, the mental processing (higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy) that is necessary to create an effective digital story.

This last session was actually a substitution for me. The session I had originally planned to attend somehow didn’t seem so appealing, and because I had seen Ladd present before, I knew I was guaranteed some quality ideas. I’m not going to try to regurgitate everything he said because you can get the big idea from his online handout (http://twi.classrooms.com/workshops/lskelly).

A couple thoughts: Ladd promoted using Microsoft Photo Story 3 for producing digital stories. For years, I had used and suggested Windows Movie Maker, but I can really see the value of using Photo Story 3. While I’m not sold entirely, I want to explore it further. Another option is VoiceThread (and Diane Zoellmer does a great job of demonstrating how to use that).  I was also struck with the role of emotion in a digital story. As Ladd played some examples of the Civil War, the combination of the pictures of slain soldiers and stirring music got to me. We don’t forget things that impact us emotionally. The multimedia in a digital story opens the door for emotional impact.

A couple of great online resources for digital storytelling: Ken Burns (www.pbs.org/kenburns/) and Adobe (www.adobe.com/education/digkids/storytelling).

One final thought shared by Ladd regarding copyright: if the website doesn’t say anything about copyright, it likely means the images (or media) are copyrighted.  The people who are not going to come after you for copyright violation are the ones who specifically state on their site the copyright policies.

Pam Shoemaker from Walled Lake Schools presented a session on “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works”. Some, but not all, of her content was based on this book. She has found many online resources that would engage students, and these resources can be found on her wiki at http://pamshoemaker.wikispaces.com. A lot of great resources. Please take the time to check it out.

I have a confession to make. I have spent a ton of time thinking about how technology ties in with the nine instructional strategies that Robert Marzano and friends presented in Classroom Instruction That Works, so I can’t say I learned a ton in this session. Again, that is not a knock on the presenter. When Mona Shores was developing the Smart Classroom initiative, we used Marzano’s book in some initial training with our pilot teachers and the overview training with all district teachers. So, in short, I have lived and breathed this stuff for quite some time.

I am also developing – on my own time – an online workshop focusing on how technology can be used to enhance Marzano’s strategies. In future posts on this blog, I will share some ideas on how technology can help you deliver instruction. I will likely include some of the ideas Pam shared, but again, if you want a sneak preview, go to her wiki.