The Problem
Those of us in the local district want to share our retreat presentations with others in our local district who will be using these presentations to host their own retreats. The presentations contain many videos. We downloaded those videos (mostly) from YouTube. We can share those downloaded videos, but it would be better if others knew how to download those videos themselves so they could add them into their PowerPoint presentations.
Solution 1 – Use an Online Converter
Zamzar is by far the easiest video converter of them all. Simply copy and past the web address of the YouTube video you want to convert, choose your file type, and put in an email address. (Select .wmv for windows or .mov for mac.) In a few hours, you will get an email with a link to download your videos. The downside of this method is 1) you have to wait and 2) the video quality is not as good as if you downloaded the video and converted it yourself.
Solution 2- Video Download Helper
One of the easiest tools to use is DownloadHelper, which is a free extension forFirefox, a freely downloadable browser that works on all platforms like Windows, Mac, or Linux.
First, if you don’t already have it, download and install Firefox. You can download it from the Firefox website. After you have it installed, open it up and visit the website to download the extension, Download Helper.
Guy McDowell posted an article on some great step-by-step directions on how to download, install and use Download Helper.
This program is easy to use once it’s configured. It’s a little difficult to get everything working just right.
Solution 3 – Real Download Helper
I prefer to use the Real Player Downloader. I don’t use Real Player much, but I really like this application.The only problem with this application is that you need to use a separate program to convert the video (see below). It will temporarily download all videos to a folder. When you want to save one, you simply click on the Download link to download the flash video. The RealPlayer site has some good directions on how to download and configure this very useful application.
The Need to Convert with Real Player Downloader
I usually don’t need to convert Flash videos to play on a PowerPoint on the Mac, but just in case your version of PowerPoint isn’t the same as mine, you might need to convert your media to play inside the PowerPoint presentation (.wmv on Windows and .mov on Mac). I use Handbrake (a free, cross platform converter) to convert videos. It’s easy to use, has some built in configurations, and some online manuals to help you out.
Just Play It!
Sometimes, to avoid the extra step of converting, I just play the video in the .flv flash video format. You can quickly switch between open applications like PowerPoint and a Video Window using the keyboard command, Command + Tab on the mac, and Control + Tab on the PC.
I use a free, cross platform media player, VLC (Video Lan Converter) application, to easily play any video. I’m sure that whether you are using a Mac or a PC, you’ve probably had trouble playing a video at one time or another. The VLC player has been able to play any video I’ve opened with it. This is a very useful free tool.
The Videos
Here are the videos we used in the Retreat presentations. Most of them are blocked by the firewall at school, so you will need to access at home to download and convert them.
Why Teams Fail – Patrick Lencioni from The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (for the Trust piece)
3 Steps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPQlu5Vxm28
Education Today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnh9q_cQcUE
A Vision of K12 Students Today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8
Ori Brafman and Maria Bartiromo – Starfish and the Spider interview (can’t locate)
Steve Jobs on Presentation – Can’t find the one we used – Search on YouTube for your favorite.
Christian the Lion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNv2A4Kfx4k&feature=related (I can’t find the one with the Whitney Houston soundtrack, but there are plenty of others.)
The Crazy Ones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABJgwsvK1XU
Death by PowerPoint http://www.technicallyfunny.com/videos.htm The one on the original website is of much higher quality than those found on YouTube.
