Download Videos

Teachers ask me all the time how they could use YouTube videos in their classrooms when YouTube is blocked. One of the easiest ways to use a video is to download it from home and bring it to class on a flash drive. By downloading the video in advance there's no worry about the site being blocked or the Internet being down or too slow. Of course, the next question is always "How do I download from YouTube?"

For the non-techy teacher the easiest way is to use Zamzar.com

• Simply copy the URL of the video you want to download, 
• Go to Zamar.com and click the Download Videos tab, 
• Paste the URL, 
• Choose which filetype you'd like, 
• Give them your email address
• Click Convert

Check your e-mail and when your download and conversion is done you'll receive instructions on how to pick it up.

Blogs I Read Regularly

I get asked a lot where I get all of the cool websites, tools, and tricks that I share during my workshops. Some of them I simply stumble upon, some I've seen in other workshops, but most of them I find while reading the blogs of other techie teachers. I don't blog much, I've never Tweeted, and rarely update my Facebook status. However, I read lots of blogs, follow tons of people on Twitter, and check into Facebook daily.

Two blogs that I would highly recommend as a starting point if you want to start collecting ideas and tools to use in your classroom are:

Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

TeacherThink by Jeff Naslund

Read them. Bookmark them. Visit them often.