Many districts are starting to open their filters a bit and YouTube is starting to find its way in. I am all for this. YouTube gives you many amazing, educational videos right at your fingertips. It also gives you a place to share what you and your students are doing in your classroom with the world.
An issue you can sometimes run into, however, is all the advertisements that are posted along the right side of the screen. You also have to contend with other video “recommendations” that pop up. You can make the video full screen, but those few seconds it takes can in some cases let your students see more than you care to admit.
There are a couple of free sites that help alleviate you of this issue. Both SafeShare.TV and ViewPure.com allow you to watch YouTube videos with nothing but a blank screen surrounding the video. All it takes is a little preparation ahead of time on your part.
- First, find the video you wish to use from YouTube and copy its URL.
- Open either SafeShare or ViewPure and copy the link into the field.
- Click to create the link.
A link will either be provided to you or a new window will open up with your YouTube video on a blank canvas. Simply copy and paste the link where you need it or create a shortcut to the video on your desktop. Now when you or your students click to watch the video, the video is all you get!
