Tech Session with the History Department

Hey West Ranch history teachers! I'm very excited to show you some fun stuff with technology today. Here are all the notes about the stuff I'll be talking about, so you can access it later.

Converting YouTube videos for use at school
There are a number of YouTube conversion sites and downloadable utilities, but nothing I have found works better than http://www.keepvid.com.

Step 1 - Find the YouTube video you want to convert. Select the URL (the website address) from the top of your browser. Highlight it and COPY it (CTRL-C).

Once you have copied the URL, go to http://www.keepvid.com. Paste (CTRL-V) the URL of the YouTube  video you want to download into the box at the top. You're going to see A LOT of other stuff below that blue highlighted box.  IGNORE IT. You don't need to install any software or pay any money. There will be a one-time Java applet that you need to allow the website to perform the conversion. This is fine. Say "Yes" or "Allow" when prompted to run that Java applet. Click on the DOWNLOAD button in the bold, blue box.

Once you have clicked DOWNLOAD, KeepVid will process the page and verify that a downloadable video is, in fact, on that page. So far (knock on wood) I have had a 100% success rate downloading YouTube videos. KeepVid is designed to rip other streaming video as well, but so far I have not been successful pulling CNN.com or MSNBC videos. But it's always worth a try.

This is the next screen you will see (below). There will be a screenshot thumbnail of the video that you have selected, followed by a number of download options. I always choose the HIGHEST quality MP4 video (in dark blue text). You'll notice that for this video, the highest quality possible is 720p. That's on the lower-end of HD-quality video, so that's good. 480p is good quality. 360p is OK. 240 is acceptable, but it will be very pixely.

Click the link for the video quality you want. Your web browser may then prompt you by asking you where you want to save the file. MP4 is a Quicktime format, so you must have the Apple Quicktime video player. If you don't have it, you can download it here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

Finally, you need to figure out how you're going to get that file from your home computer to school. You could burn it to a disc. You could save it to a flash drive. OR, you could upload it to Google Docs! That's our next lesson . . .

GOOGLE DOCS

Here's the YouTube video we watched today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYPjJK6LZdM

Cloud Technology
Creating your work in one place and saving to the Cloud
Access anywhere you have an Internet connection
Access on a desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone
Types of files we can create, edit, print, upload, and/or download

Microsoft Office analogs
Document
Spreadsheet
Presentation
Form
It’s not EXACTLY Office, but it's 95% of everything I need

It gets even better!
Auto-save and revision history
Sharing files
View-only access
Edit access
Publishing to the web
Working simultaneously - collaborate with other educators and students!
Chatting within a document
Tracking changes
Never sending attachments again! HURRAY!!

Taking it to the next level
All your ASB, yearbook, drama applications can now be created using form
Student of the Month/Character Counts nomination form
Try out this form here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGRrQUpFZVE3aWlxRi1fWEFuU09kbGc6MQ
Adding images is as simple as drag-and-drop
Convert PDF files to word documents
Great for personal use (birthday lists, holiday lists, …)
Spell check
And Google Docs continues to add new features all the time!
Security
Eliminates floppy disks, USB/flash drives, CD drives
Greater security, no virus risk
You don’t know where that student’s flash drive has been!

Using Google Docs with your students
Equity for all students - need to make sure all students have access
Students sharing documents with the teacher, teacher can post comments, check progress
Keeps student files all easily accessible and all in one place!!
Why Google Docs beats posting to a blog - the Kimball High School story