Put up your hand if you time to blog these days. Not so fast, Van Dusen!

I suppose, however, if I could hit two or more birds with one stone I could make time to submit a blog entry here and there. This is my attempt to do just that. Can I help to address what is quickly becoming a major barrier and dissatisfier for teachers looking to integrate technology in their classroom while actually contributing an #ETMOOC reflection at the same time? Let’s just see.

Pretend for a second that your access to Youtube has been impeded by connectivity issues, not by filtering. You once did a masterful job of curating engaging and relevant videos to use during instructional time, and your learners looked forward to joining you in class just to see what content you have for them today. Only now your playlists won’t play and the word ‘buffering’ is the bane of your existence. You have very little control over the conditions that led  to this issue, but until things are made better, you know you’ll have to come up with some creative strategies to address this predicament. Where do you start?

• Find a neat tool or add-on to allow you to download Youtube content ahead of time and have it ready to play offline or from another source. Why not? Others swear by this technique and it’s so darn easy. If you are digitally fluent or if you are a model digital citizen, you’d take the time to determine whether stripping content from Youtube for playback elsewhere is in fact OK with Youtube. You check Youtube’s terms of service and sure enough you find several terms that lead you to believe that this is not a good idea. Go ahead and check it out for yourself, but I’ll save you some reading and let you know that you should shy away from downloading on Youtube. Check this little video out below if you prefer to have someone explain the terms to you. I first starting asking around the #ETMOOC when somebody in one of the webinars brought up the topic of copyright and fair use. They suggested I take a look at this article.

• If it is just Youtube giving you trouble because that service has been intentionally ‘chocked’ or ‘rationed’ on your network, try your luck on one of the many other video hosting and sharing sites. You know that some of the other services were specifically designed for use in eduction and some of the content is exclusively hosted on these sites while not available on youtube. You’ll tell all your friends about this blog posting by Richard Byrne ” on Free Technology for Teachers.While you’re there, be sure to check out the entire blog and subscribe to posts. Richard has created a one-stop shop for all your Ed Tech needs. Dean Shareski, in his #ETMOOC session “Sharing as Accountability” specifically references Richard’s blog as an excellent example of person committed to sharing resources and ideas. Perhaps you need more, so you check out 80 Educational Alternatives to Youtube.

• Start producing content instead of consuming content. Perhaps you are as disturbed as I am that lack of access to Youtube has brought our ability to integrate technology to its knees. What’s up with that? Students need to produce rich media just as much, if not more than they consume. There are loads of interesting and engaging ways to accomplish this and you’d do well to review the #ETMOOC archives on Digital-Storytelling and Blogging. I guarantee that if you spend just an hour listening to Darren Kuropatwa, Jim Groom & Friends, or Alan Levine, you’ll have enough ideas to last you a long time!

This didn’t exactly turn out to be the type of deep reflection I owe my fellow #ETMOOCers, but you’ll just have to trust me that lack of access to Youtube has been a hot topic around these parts.