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Frieda,
a SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter reader, writes, “Thanks for the
newsletter. As always, it has great information. I was wondering if you
could tell me how to get video clips for presentations. I use a couple
of movie parts for some of my presentations, but it is always
frustrating for me to get them paused at the right point and stopped at
the right point. Is there a way or website to get video clips? I see
presenters use them all the time, but I have no idea how. That's my
technology challenge right now. Can you guide me. Thanks.”
Excellent question Frieda, let’s get right to it ... Your question has two parts – getting short video clips (as is) and second, editing out a clip from a longer movie or program.
More and more, presenters are using video clips to enhance understanding
in a lesson or training. Indeed, our world continues to become dependent
upon a rich array of media for information and learning. When working
with children who are growing up on multimedia information it becomes
even more true. Although there are some days when I would like to return
to a simpler time when we used overheads and index cards, I have to
admit that I’m glad to see more videos in presentations, it’s a more
effective and appropriate use of technology.
PowerPoint was never really meant to include screens filled with
paragraphs – only short bullets and, even more important, the delivery
of rich information such as with videos. The good news too is that using
videos in our lessons is now easier than ever given the proliferation of
videos online such as with YouTube and Google Videos.
Getting that Video into PowerPoint
So the big question is, “How do I get the videos from YouTube into my
presentation (assuming that you are using PowerPoint)?” Well actually,
you don’t really have to. You could just link to an online video from
your presentation if you are sure to have Internet access during your
delivery. However, you could run into a problems such as your school
blocking the video site or that the video eventually gets deleted by the
person who posted it. Your best bet is to download it and there are a
couple of ways to do that. First, check out this list of websites
here
that allow you to simply put in the website address (URL) of a video and
get a new link to the actual video file. In other words, your first step
is to go to the original web page on which the video exists, copy the
web address of that page, and then insert it into one of these online
services that will extract the video for you.
One thing you should understand is that most online videos are in the
Flash Video (FLV) format which is not easily handled by PowerPoint. If
you do want to download and use the FLV files as they come, you will
first have to install a FLV video player. Then, you can just link to the
FLV file from PowerPoint which will then play in the FLV player when you
click on the link. On a bit of a side note, I do recommend linking a
video from PowerPoint instead of inserting or embedding it which results
in all kinds of problems. Here’s how it works ....
What I do is simply (1) put a graphic (e.g., a video reel or camera)
into the slide; (2) right click on it and choose Hyperlink; (3) in the
Insert Hyperlink menu, navigate and choose the video file that you want
to play. Click OK. Now clicking on the link while you are viewing the
presentation will launch the associated program in slideshow mode. If
you have linked to a RealVideo movie, this might initiate RealPlayer or
the QuickTime player in case you have linked to a MOV video. In all
cases you will have to close the video clip independently of PowerPoint
(click
here
for more info about videos and PowerPoint).
A free FLV player that I use and recommend is called “FLV Player” and
can be download from
this website.
By the way, a trick I’ve learned with this player is that to close it,
you have to press ALT-F4 on your keyboard because there is not red “X”
button on the top right corner. Another FLV player is “Wimpy
Desktop FLV Player.”
Although I’ve not used it, it seems to be a pretty good one and also
supports Macintosh.
To avoid the FLV format altogether, you can use a free service that
actually converts the video into a more common standard (I recommend WMV
or AVI) before downloading it. My favorite is
Zamzar
(Watch a video of ZamZar in action
here).
Again, once you download the movie, just link to it when you are in
PowerPoint. Another advantage of converting a FLV video to a more
standard format is that you can much more easily edit that video if you
need to.
Editing a Video Clip
Once you have a movie clip, you can use a free and powerful video
editing software to get it just right. I recommend Windows Movie Maker
2.1 which usually comes with a Windows XP or Vista computer or you can
get it
here.
Macintosh users typically use iMovie. Windows Movie Maker supports lots
of file formats including:
• Video files: .asf, .avi, .wmv
Getting a Video Clip from a DVD The most difficult thing you might run into is actually getting a video clip from a DVD movie because the file formats (VOB) are difficult to deal with and because DVD’s have embedded in them copyright code which prevents this very thing. There is software out there that you can purchase to do this such as AOA DVD Ripper. Or, you can convert VOB files into something more editable by using software such as Yasasoft or Blaze Video Magic. If you run into copyright problems, you could use software which copies the movie to your hard drive without the copyright code such as DVD Shrink or DVDFab HD Decrypter. Speaking of copyright though, I have to say that you should never infringe upon copyrights and stay within the limits of the law (e.g., educational fair use).
Other Resources Here is a list of websites that will help you deliver more dazzling, impact full, and fun lessons or presentations. • PhotoStory 3. Create slide shows using your digital photos, music, and/or narration. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures and save as a WMV movie. It's that easy and it’s free. Check out a PhotoStory that my son Joe did a while back ago here. • Film Clips. Film Clips Spirit of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing short film clips from major motion pictures to America's teachers for use as teaching resources. • TeacherTube officially launched on March 6, 2007. Our goal is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill. • Must See Videos from SchoolCounselor.com. • YouTube Establishes Anti-Bullying Channel. The first online anti-bullying channel has been launched to encourage young people to denounce the intimidation. YouTube has set up a site where youngsters can post their own videos and messages. • Youtube example of a “Meet the School Counselor” video. • Embed YouTube Video into PowerPoint. If you must embed a YouTube video directly into PowerPoint, you can watch a video tutorial here. • Zuula video search now offers searching of video sites, including Google Video, YouTube, iFilm, MetaCafe, and DailyMotion.
• Create
and distribute a self-running PowerPoint presentation.
P.S. Warning: if you search on the term school counselor or guidance
counselor on YouTube, you will see
results
that are less than flattering. This is a brutal fact and a wake up call
about student perceptions about school counselors. For example, watch
this
one,
this
one,
or even this
one.
On a final note, realize that when you link to a video (or any other file for that matter) within PowerPoint, the files will not be included in the presentation if you copy it to another computer or send it via email. To include all your linked files, you have to “package” the presentation. In version 2003, click here for instructions and for 2007, click here.
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Using
Video for your Presentations 
