Two YouTube tools

YouTube is an amazing resource of videos that we can incorporate in our own PLN and as we develop others.  Here are some tools to make using YouTube even better! 

• Creating a "cued up" YouTube video link - through YouTube
  If you want to start showing a video at a particular time in the video, you can use YouTube to modify the URL for the video so it starts where you want it to start.  Let's say you were watching the YouTube video of the Ze Frank web playroom TED talk and wanted to share it, but wanted to start at a particular spot in the video project which begins 14 minutes and 22 seconds into the video.  Do the following:

          1. Click on the Share icon to show the URL.

          2. Click the checkbox and add the start time in minutes and seconds.

              Now when you share the URL, it will start at 14 minutes, 22 seconds.

              (I encourage you to take a look at this entire TED Talk. And oldie--2010!--but a goodie.)

• Displaying a YouTube video without distractions

   Let's say you want to show a video in class or in a training session or in a meeting.  The problem with going to the YouTube website is the random videos in the sidebar.  Not only are they distracting, but since you have no control over what is presented in the sidebar, they may be completely inappropriate for your setting!  There are several easy ways to show the video without the sidebars on the screen:

• Show the video full screen. This is a less than perfect options because you will spend some time on the YouTube screen before you make it full screen.

• Embed the video in a Powerpoint presentation.  The video will show "in" your Powerpoint without the sidebar videos or comments from the YouTube page.

• What if you are not using Powerpoint?  
• You can use Watchkin.com. Watchkin is a website that allows you to paste your YouTube URL into the blank Watchkin webpage (except for the Watchkin branding) so you can watch on a distraction-free webpage. You can also fullscreen the video from the Watchkin page.
  
  
• You can also use the DF Tube (Distraction Free for YouTube) extension for Chrome or Firefox.
  
  
• If you find a YouTube video you want to use for development and it has ads during the video, a good tip is to add a "dash" to the YouTube link so your link appears as
  yout-ube.com/etc.etc. It will allow you to watch the video without externally added ad interruptions (this does not work if the "ad reads" are read by the host as part of the video).  

What are your favorite YouTube tips to share with us?

Adding a video to YouTube (and "trimming" it)

There are many ways to create a video including using video from your phone; creating a screen recording with ScreenPal; creating a recording of a conversation, a screen share, or a PowerPoint presentation in Zoom; and recording a presentation directly from PowerPoint and saving it as an MP4 video. 

(Here is a more in-depth video on all of the video recording options in PowerPoint, including how to create a screen recording from within PowerPoint that is "editable" and then easily include it in your PowerPoint slide.)  

But the question is: 

Once I have a video...what do I do with it?

Uploading a video to YouTube

Obviously, you can include your video in your Blogger blog. But often, you will want to upload it to YouTube.  Everyone who has a Gmail account automatically has YouTube storage space. Your ISU email is a Gmail account, which means your ISU email has YouTube storage associated with it! Here is a brief video on uploading a video to YouTube.

Once your video is uploaded to YouTube you can copy and share the link just like you would with any YouTube video!

Trimming your YouTube video

When you record your video, there is often some "extra" video at the beginning of the video between when you start recording and when you actually start your presentation. There is also typically a bit of "extra" video that gets captured at the end of the video as you finish up, turn off the recorder, etc.  It is not critical to remove the "extra" bits, but it makes your video look cleaner and more professional.  Here is a video that explains how to trim your video once it is uploaded to YouTube.

Have fun as you use YouTube with your videos!

"Snooze" your emails (even if you are not using Gmail!)

In an earlier blog post, I talked about using the "snooze" feature in Gmail to set a date for your email to be re-sent to your inbox.  But what if you are not using Gmail?  

One option is to use FollowUpThen. 

What is it?

Although not a tool for use with learners, this is one of my favorite "productivity" tools--I use it almost every day. (it's the only way I can ever get close to "inbox zero.")

FollowUpThen is a tool to help you manage your email inbox.  It lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). To accomplish this, you use SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com as an email address in your distribution.

Example

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Enrique asking when they were available to meet. Ordinarily, I might be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox to remind me that Susan and Enrique should be getting back to me about this.  This is not a good reminder system because 

1. it clutters my inbox
2. with all the email in my inbox--and with this email potentially scrolling off the bottom of the screen and not being visible--it may not be a good reminder for me. 

Instead of BCC-ing myself on the email, I can BCC SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com.  Let's say I wanted to be reminded on Friday that Susan and Enrique should have gotten back to me. I would include in the distribution of the email:

TO: Susan, Enrique

BCC: Friday@FollowUpThen.com.  

The email will go to Susan, it will go to Enrique, and on Friday it will show up in my inbox.

How to Use it

When you go to the FollowUpThen website you'll see you can sign up for an account. The free version allows for 50 follow-ups in a month.

FollowUpThen allows you to use natural language in place of the SOMETIME in the email address.  You can say, "Friday," "EveryWednesday," "200pm," "April15," "tomorrow," "2days," and a whole host of other descriptions. There is more information on how to set the SOMETIME on the followupthen.com webpage. 

With FollowUpThen you can also control who sees the follow-up.  If you put the SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com email address in the:

BCC: only you will see the follow up

CC: all of the original recipients of the email will see the follow up

Because FollowUpThen is just an email address vs a separate email tool, you can use it with any email program.

A Big Caution

The way FollowUpThen works is that it stores your email, encrypted, on the FollowUpThen servers until it is time to re-send the email. After the email is sent, it is deleted from the FollowUpThen servers.  

However, the fact that the email is stored on third-party servers may be against your company's data management/privacy policies. 

Because of this, many of you will not be able to use FollowUpThen at work. Check with your company to see if it is OK to use FollowUpThen before you use it at work. Here is FollowUpThen's privacy policy. 

(although it should still be handy with your non-work email).

Resources:

• How to use Followupthen from the Followupthen website
  
  
• I talked about FollowUpThen on episode #39 of the Higher Learning Now podcast.

Want to make Gmail even more useful? Snooze it!

What is the Gmail snooze feature?

One of my favorite features of Gmail--and one I use almost every day-- is the "snooze" feature. The Gmail snooze feature lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). 

How to Use it

• Select the email you want to snooze.  You can open the email to select it, or you can select one or more emails by checking the box next to the email in the inbox.

• Click the snooze icon from the list of icons on the top of the window.

• Select a pre-set date and time or click on "Pick date & time" to select a custom date & time. The email will disappear from your inbox and reappear at the date and time selected!

• You can always find your snoozed emails by clicking on the snoozed folder on the left sidebar of your Gmail.

When to Use it: Example #1

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Bob asking them for information I need for a meeting next Tuesday. Ordinarily, I might be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox until Friday when I want to send a follow-up email if I have not heard from Susan and Bob about this. This is not a good reminder system because (1) it clutters my inbox, and (2) it might scroll off the bottom of the screen or get "lost" in my inbox and that is not a good reminder system!  Instead of leaving it in my inbox, I can CC or BCC myself on the email and then snooze the email until Friday when it will pop back in my inbox and remind me I need to send an email if I have not heard from Susan or Bob.

When to Use it: Example #2

Let's say Luis sends me an email with an agenda for our meeting on April 15.  I want to review the agenda before the meeting and bring it with me to the meeting on April 15, but do not need it cluttering my inbox for the next several weeks.  I can snooze the email until April14 and then delete/file the email because I know that the email will be delivered again to my inbox on the 14th, giving me time to review the agenda before the meeting. (and keeping all the clutter out of my inbox!)

How can you use the Gmail snooze feature to improve your productivity?

Recording and narrating your computer screen (aka "screencasting")

Have you ever wanted to make a demonstration of an online task or presentation? One free--and easy-- way to do it is to use Screenpal!

Take a look at this video on how to use Screenpal (12:36)

Once you have recorded your video, you might want to add it to your Blogger blog (1:28)

Or maybe you want to add your video to YouTube for folks to access (I'll make another post on how to do this).

In case you are not at your computer with the downloaded Screenpal, or if you have a computer where you can not download software, you can also launch Screenpal from the web (0:25m)

You can learn more about Screenpal recorder and editor by going to the Screenpal resources page. And, of course, you can search the internet for instructions and videos created by others.

Give Screenpal a try and include your video in a blog post!

How might you use screen recordings to help others learn?

Scanning documents with your phone

 

I was working with a student this week who needed to sign a document and send it back to me.  She did not have a scanner and did not know what to do.  The answer? Scan it with your phone!

Using your phone to scan documents can be helpful when you need to sign and email documents, but I also use it in the library to scan pages from books that I have quotes I want to use in my research, reference lists I want to follow up on from articles I like, non-research/at-home uses, etc.

There are many scanning apps for your phone. If you are not familiar with scanning apps, here is a short (2:41) video to show you what it's like! This demo shows the scanning app I use most often, Genius Scan, but it is similar with any scanning app!

Wait! How did Robin screencast on her phone? Check out how to do it on Apple and Android phones.

(full disclosure: I used a video editing program to add the boxes and highlights to the video after I screencasted it.)

How might you use your phone for a scanner-on-the-go?

Word Clouds!

Word Clouds allow you use words and create a visual display. Words used more often are displayed larger in a word cloud, and words used less often are displayed smaller in a word cloud. Word clouds can be used to display your own list of words, or to display the information you gather from other sources, such as through a survey or other types of comments.

There are many websites to help you create word clouds. Some word cloud websites require you to install free plug-ins (like java, silverlight). Once you find a word cloud generator, they generally work the same: type or upload your text or word list, and generate your word cloud. You can regenerate your word cloud until you find one you like, and can often change the color, font, shape and more for your word cloud. Once you have your word cloud you can sometimes save or download it, but you can always capture it with a screen capture tool such as the Microsoft Snipping Tool (shortcut is: windows_key+shift+S)

Here are a few free word cloud generators for you to try out! (just ignore any options to put your word cloud on merchandise or sign up for a paid subscription.)

WordItOut.com Click the green "create your own" button to get started. 
WordClouds.com  I like this one because it lets you pick a shape to force your word cloud into, such as a heart, arrow, checkmark, lightning bolt, etc.
WordArt.com also gives you a lot of control over the shape of your word cloud (it is "art" not a cloud!)
Jason Davis' word cloud generator
WordSift.org uses a list of words, or you can paste in text, and it will take the common words from text, an article, or a speech and creates a word cloud.

And you can search to find even more word cloud generators!

How might you be able to use word clouds?