Using Internet Video in your Classes
There are a wealth of sites that contain great video clips that provide media-rich examples for your students. This handout contains information on where to find video on the web and how to download them for use in your classes or for editing purposes. It also contains some good copyright information that you will want to become familiar with before downloading any video.
Where to find video on the Internet
Copyright-safe Video Sites:
- Streamline SC - http://etv.streamlinesc.org (Note: to create your own account you will need to key the an access code. Contact Mendi for that code) - All copyright has been secured.
- Merlot - http://www.merlot.org
- Creative Commons - http://www.creativecommons.org
- Internet Archive - http://www.archive.org/details/movies
- Prelinger Archives - archives of many of the informational films of the 40s and 50s. "Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven't been collected elsewhere. Included are films produced by and for many hundreds of important US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions."
- Non-English Videos - "Collections of non-English language videos are showcased here. Find an Italian blog, a set of films by the German director Lutz Mommartz, and a collection of French Canadian films created by amateur filmmakers. Many of these videos are available for free download."
- Cultural and Academic Films - "This library of academic and cultural films features collections from the Academic Film Archive and the Media Burn Independent Film Archive, as well as a selection of documentaries created by Dorothy Fadiman."
- News and Public Affairs - "An analysis of news and public affairs independent from traditional corporate media is available from this diverse video library. From Democracy Now's daily news program, to three days of TV news coverage following the 911 attacks, to Mosaic’s timely clips of Middle East newscasts, to UCSF's Tobacco Industry Videos"
Non-Copyright-Safe Video Sites:
- Flash Video (Beware of Copyright Infringement)
- Podcasts
Copyright Issues
With the use of any general web video, you run the risk of infringing on someone elses copyright. Just because you didn't post the video doesn't absolve you from copyright infringement if you choose to use it. This becomes even worse if you choose to download illegal videos to your computer.
YouTube has a simple yet thorough explanation of copyright infringement at http://www.youtube.com/t/howto_copyright. A more detailed (and legally sound) description of Fair Use is located at http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html Susan Gurganus turned me on to a site with an easy to follow chart geared twoard teachers - http://www.halldavidson.net/chartshort.html
The safest course is always to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material.
Capturing Streamed or Flash Video to your Computer
While some of the video sites listed above contain mechanisms for downloading the videos you want, many, such as YouTube and Daily Motion, do not. In order to capture this type of video (streamed or flash video) you will need to load some add-ons to Firefox. Unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Some of these programs are needed to grab video from some places and some programs are needed for others. Again I remind you, only use these to capture video for which you have obtained use permission or for non-copyright restricted materials.
Most of these tools require you to use Firefox as your web browser. Firefox can be downloaded for free from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
- Download Helper: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006
This add-on puts a tricolored at the top of your Firefox browser. When it spins and turn color that is the signal that it can download the video loaded on that page. Click the dropdown arrow to select the correct video. It will download the video to your computer, usually as an .flv file (flash video).
- Google Video Downloader: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2838
This add-on puts a link in the bottom right corner of the window (get video). Clicking on this link opens a new window with a link to download the video.
- Video Downloader: http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php
This add-on puts an icon in the bottom right corner of the window (get video). Clicking on this link opens a new window with a link to download the video.
- KeepVid: http://keepvid.com/
This is a website that allows you to paste the url of the video site into a text box. The web service will convert it for you to download.
- Media-convert.com
- Youconvertit.com
- Zamzar.com
Converting and Playing .flv (Flash Video) Files
Most videos on YouTube and DailyMotion are encoded in .flv format. This is a Flash Video format and therefore will not play using Windows Media player or Quicktime player. So if you want to use the videos you downloaded (which I'm sure you do) you have to do one of two things:
Convert the .flv to a Windows Media or Quicktime file
This method requires the use of free converter software. Download and install the appropriate converter program to begin converting your flvs to .avi, .wmv, or .mov files.
Play the .flv using a stand-alone flash video player
This method requires you to download and install a free flash player. This will allow you to watch the videos in their existing .flv format. NOTE: These players are not loaded in most classrooms.
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