I don’t think anyone can argue with the value that technologies like YouTube and Google Video have brought to the table. Individuals now have a voice that they didn’t previously have.  Schools, however, have been drowning out that voice by preventing these sites from being viewable to students and staff using the school’s network.  Don’t get me wrong.  As a Technology Coordinator, I completely understand that this is a necessary evil since schools are responsible for providing Internet access to students and, therefore, responsible for the content that they are viewing.  No one thinks that students should have unrestricted Internet access rights but we all agree that they should not be able view certain things (such as pornography).  Unfortunately the solution that many districts have implemented has harmed teachers as well.  Many teachers find themselves unable to utlilize incredibly valuable resources they have found which would add a great deal to their classes.

One work around that I have suggested to some of my co-workers is the use of an online FLV (the standard file format used by YouTube) converter.   Using an online converter allows users to simply enter in the YouTube URL of the video they want to download, and they will be provided with a link to download the actual video file.  The converter I have been recommending is called Vixy.net. It actually allows users to select from multiple download formats such as AVI, MOV, and MP4.  Teachers can then save their videos at home and bring them into school to show their classes.  An even bigger advantage to using an online converter is that teachers can now have an archive of all of their important videos for future use.  Counting on the videos to always be hosted online is a poor idea.

For those of you who are feeling a little more adventerous, Gil’s Method provides an excellent tutorial on how to jack up your Firefox browser to allow you to download videos easily as well.