Thing 20: You, Too, Can YouTube

I love YouTube videos but have been frustrated that CMCSS blocks access to YouTube on the school server (I understand completely – there is a lot of YouTube stuff you do not want children viewing).  While student teaching I was looking of videos on rock climbing (turn the volume down or off BEFORE clicking the hyperlink if young children are present), to build background information on a novel I was doing for 5th grade Language Arts (On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer).  Back then I did not know how to download YouTube videos with a Firefox add-on, and so although I found several great videos, I had to go another direction because I couldn’t show the videos using the CMCSS server.  For this particular video, using with students, I would ensure the sound was off (and double check – although the bad word is at the very end and there is other talking to remind you to turn down the sound).  I picked this because it is a good example of finding a good video but having to use care with the audio (also a lot of the music used in the background of some YouTube videos might not be appropriate).

I also found this great video while reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling in a 4th grade classroom, but again, before I knew how to download a video and so back then it was unusable to me.  Some of the comments made after the video are inappropriate for children.