Google Classroom and EDpuzzle Working Seamlessly Together!

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As my last post for this calendar year (Christmas break is coming up so I'm going to skip the next two weeks),this is going to be a short post, focusing on some new features in EDpuzzle that allow it to work seamlessly with Google Classroom.  For more information on EDpuzzle itself and how to use that tool, see my previous blog post here.  EDpuzzle has created some additions that now allow teachers to post videos directly to Google Classroom, as well as easily create students and add classes.

First, in EDpuzzle, you can now use the Share to Classroom button to add a new EDpuzzle video directly to your Google class for students to access.  They no longer have to go out to EDpuzzle itself to access the videos and you can still see all of the results and analytics that come with the video.

In addition, you can take existing classes of students from Google and import them into EDpuzzle.  This means that if you are a current Google Classroom user and want to try EDpuzzle, you do not have to have your student sign up for two separate classes in two different tools. They can sign up for just your Google Classroom and that's it!  This will also make beginning of the year set-up much easier.  When new students are added during the school year, one click in EDpuzzle lets you update those classes by pulling information from Google.

These new features have really taken EDpuzzle to a whole new level.  It is a great tool for a flipped classroom on its own, but with the new integration to Google Classroom, it makes assigning and managing video assignments much easier and more efficient for the teacher.  If you are an EDpuzzle user or are interested in trying it out, these features will make your life much easier!  Check out the video below for more information on how to use these features.

Have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you all in the New Year!

Edpuzzle - Track Student Progress Using Video Resources

Even if you don't have a flipped classroom, Edpuzzle can be a great resource to use if you want to assign students videos to watch and then track their progress.  It allows teachers to assign videos for students to watch outside of class, instead of having to always take the class time to watch them together, and then be able to see whether students watched the videos and track their progress.  One of the best features about it is the ability to add questions to the video that students have to answer as they watch.  You can add multiple choice or text questions, and then see how students did on the questions.  You can use existing videos from places like Youtube or Kahn Academy, or upload your own videos if you want to record your own lectures. Additionally, you can assign students an edpuzzle project and they can create learning videos themselves!

Now, all that being said, as awesome as this tool is, there are a few things you should know, especially if you are thinking of using it with your FPS high school students.  While we only have one teacher who uses it extensively, he has found that for a handful of students, they run into issues when trying to view his videos on edpuzzle.  Generally it's an issue of the video freezing at some point while it is playing. As a workaround, this teacher saves his videos in his Google Drive, so his students can watch them there if needed.  However, when that happens, he is unable to track their usage and questions. Again, this is only a few students, and this seems to have more to do with our tablets or those students, and not the site or the resource itself.  So this will be something to watch going forward.  As always with technology, a backup plan is a good idea.  And even with the possibility of a few students needing to use the backup plan, this resource is well worth it to track videos you assign to students, even if it's not frequently.  Check out the links below for some really good tutorials and videos on how to use it!

Edpuzzle Demo Video
Edpuzzle Video & Question Analytics Video
Great Youtube Video on Using Edpuzzle

All Things Youtube

Youtube has become a powerful educational tool lately that can be used in a variety of ways.  While there is always a place for the cat and fox videos that we all love (or hate), it can also be used to post content videos for students to watch, to assist in classroom flipping, or as a resource for students to find, use, and upload their own video creations.  On the surface, Youtube is simply a platform to post and share videos.  However, there are a variety of options and features that make it much more. Below you will find directions for uploading and editing videos, including increasing the 15 minute per video limit, subscribing to channels, creating and sharing playlists, and downloading Youtube videos.  The options are endless!

Uploading Videos:

• Teachers and students can post videos to Youtube and share them.  One issue some teachers have run into is the 15 minute limit set on our school Youtube accounts.  However, that limit can be increased by following the directions below from the Youtube Help Site: Increasing Your Youtube Limit
• Additionally, students can upload their own videos by following these directions: Uploading to Youtube.  
• Once you have uploaded videos to Youtube, you also have the option to edit those videos, right in Youtube.  This video has instructions and help for editing your videos in Youtube.

Along with uploading videos, you can create and have students subscribe to your Youtube channel, making sharing classroom videos easier, or you yourself can subscribe to channels of interest to you.  For instance, Fargo Public Schools has an informative and helpful Youtube Channel with technology help videos - check it out here!
If you prefer not to access a complete channel or to create your own videos for classroom use, you can also create your own playlists, which are a collection of videos you choose and organize.  This works well if you use a variety of videos that you show in class or have students watch and you want to keep them organized and handy.  See the links below for videos on how to use channels and playlists.
     How to Subscribe to Channels
     How to Create and Share Playlists

See all the videos on the Youtube Help Channel here.

Downloading Youtube Videos and Audio

There are a number of ways to download videos from Youtube and options for downloading entire videos or just the audio of a video.  Students will often want to take short clips from videos to use in class projects, and the following sites allow for that.  This is also very helpful if you want to access a video later when you don't have internet access, or as a safety if you are planning to show a video in class, in case something isn't working (we all know the day you want to show a video is the day all it will do is buffer and not play).

•      Keepvid: This site allows you to download videos from a variety of sites, including Youtube.  Simply copy and paste the video link in the box at the top of the page and click Download.  The site will provide options for downloading in a variety of formats, including video or audio only.
•      Clip Converter: This site is another options for downloading online videos, or for uploading and converting the format of a video you have saved on your computer.  To download, simply paste the link and click continue.  Similar to Keepvid, you will get a list of options for downloading, including audio only.
•      Youtube to MP3: This is one I recently leaned about from students, where you can again use the link to a Youtube video and convert it to an MP3 file that can be downloaded.  This is an easy way to get just the audio from a video or to get music that students can then use in presentations or classroom projects.  There is a variety of public domain music available on Youtube that students can use.