Embedding YouTube Clips straight in SMART notebook

I have just been playing around with a very handy little widget for embedding YouTube clips straight into Notebook. It plays from the internet so still requires internet access but it is very handy having the video embedded straight into the page and although I have only tried a couple it seems to work very well. You can download the widget from Smart Exchange here and Danny Nicholson has given a quick and easy to follow tutorial of how to install the widget on his excellent Whiteboard Blog.

Teaching Videos

Thanks to Danny Nicholson, for the link to a brand new website called “Teaching Videos” set up by Mark Warner. The webiste is designed to bring together educational videos that have been recommended by other teachers. There is going to be a function soon where you can actually register and recommend videos to be added. Over time this should begin to develop into a really useful archive, and will save some searching on You Tube etc.. particularly in the knowledge that videos highlighted on this site have been recommended by teachers as good for use in the classroom.

There are a number of videos that have already been added, but it is worth bookmarking the site and checking back when you are looking for videos as the site is destined to keep growing. The videos are categorised according to subject / topic area as well as according to key stage making finding videos simple! As well as curriculum subjects, there are also videos classified as useful for professional development and assemblies.

YouTube Videos for Teachers

SmartTeaching.org have published a list of 100 of the best YouTube videos for teachers. A number of subject areas have been covered and the YouTube video links are organised on this basis. As well as videos for use with students there are some useful videos to support professional development, including the use of technology in the classroom and classroom management. Although really aimed at higher education, YouTube have also released YouTube Edu – where college and university video channels have been collected together in one place.

Although it should be possible to use YouTube in the classroom, if you are having problems accessing it or would like to insert YouTube videos into SMARTnotebook so that you can annotate them, don’t forget zamzar is an excellent tool for downloading the videos (instructions can be found in this post).