Online video has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years - there's more of it, for sure, but the quality is much higher (bigger screen sizes, fewer pauses when watching). This change is largely about improvements in technology - digital video cameras are much more common (including on standard digitial cameras and mobile phones), highspeed internet access is more common (important for watching videos but also for uploading them to the internet), video editing software has become far less expensive (often free online or pre-installed on newly purchased computers), and online storage (server space) has dropped dramatically in price.
That last one, the price of online storage, has been revolutionary - without it, companies like YouTube and Google video would not be able to host videos from millions of users without charging them a cent. Note: Google video hosts longer videos than YouTube which has 10 minute cap. The (relative) ease of creating video, uploading it to the web, and storing it in an easy-to-access environment is starting to impact the way our society gets its news. Think about it - anyone with a digital camera can capture a news event on their mobile phone video camera and save it to an online video account. Anyone remember the recent Australian election when both the government and opposition used YouTube video clips?
Video Embedding
All YouTube videos offer code that allow you to embed a video (it doesn't have to be yours - you can embed any video you find on YouTube) on your website or blog. Look below where I've embedded an outstanding video on Web 2.0 - click on the play icon to start it up, press pause to make it stop.
Content
Now, please understand that it's not just serious stuff - reporting, politics, web 2.0. There's thousands and thousands of fun, even useless, videos on YouTube for your watching pleasure.
Discover: Try searching these examples in YouTube AND Google video:
- “State Library”
- British Library
- “Flinders map”
But what about libraries? Check out We love our NJ libraries and QandANJ: Now Your Library is Open Late Night Too! Can you find any other interesting examples?
Explore: How about showcasing oral histories, library building projects, staff orientations, guides to using library services, book reviews or exhibitions? There are many opportunities to use video out there. Blog about your discoveries in both YouTube and Google video [hint try searching Mosman Library]. What possibilities can you think of for your organisation?
Feedback: Click here to let us know how you are going with the learning 2.0 program.
Adventure: Find a YouTube video you like and embed it in your blog. Here are the instructions:
1. Go to http://www.youtube.com/ and find the video. Look for the box to the right of the video [see the example below].
2. Copy the code in the box marked Embed [make sure you have all the text – it is a long line].
3. Log into your blog and compose a new message.
4. Click on the Edit Html link.
5. Paste in the code you copied from the YouTube embed link in step 2. [hint: make sure that you are on “Edit Html” and that you don’t switch back to the “Compose” mode.]
6. "Publish" your post.
7. Click "View Blog" to see your video.
That's it for this week, thanks for reading and doing.
Next up – tagging and folksonomies!
1 comment:
I used what I learnt about embedding Youtube videos and applied it to a Powerpoint presentation that I gave to staff. It was frustrating. The video didn't embed. Apparently you need to convert the video to movie format in order to show it in a Powerpoint presentation. Lucky I was prepared on the day, and had an internet connection through the labtop. I simply connected to a browser and showed the audience the YouTube video that way. It worked but wasn't as seemless.
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