Screencast: How to Use Keepvid.com to Download YouTube Videos

     Here is a screencast that I created using Smart Recorder (the recording device that comes with SmartBoard) on how to download YouTube videos to your desktop using a Website called keepvid.com. This is a useful tool for teachers who work in a district that does not allow direct links to video websites, or for having a video already on your desktop on days when the network is down and Internet access is impossible.
     This example uses a video that I created myself for YouTube. Within the screencast, I included typed instructions that can be used by doing a freeze frame of the screencast. I have also included these instructions in this post. I hope these instructions prove to be of use to anyone in our class (or to anyone else who stumbles across this blog, for that matter!).

Steps for using keepvid.com

1. Find a YouTube video that you want to download to your computer for educational purposes from www.youtube.com. (Today we will look for one that I have uploaded for practice.)

2. Try to find one that is of fairly high quality. There is a search function that may bring up multiple versions of the same video.

(Today, for practice, use these keywords: SchoolOfBraam. Xavier, Jackson, Tech, keepvid.com

Title: Xavier Practice Video for downloading)

3. Once you have found the video you want, copy the URL address of the video (the URL address can be found at the top of Web browser and usually begins with www) by defining the address and using either Control C on your keyboard or by right-clicking and then clicking on Copy.

4. Open a new tab. Type in the Web address  keepvid.com and hit return.

5. At the top of the window, there is a space that says URL: Enter the URL of video page here. Click inside this space, then either type Control V from your keyboard, or right click and then click on Paste.

(Today the practice video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLkV8SGF5RA)

6. Click on Download.

7. If you get a box asking if you wish to run the program, click on “run.”

8.You should get several options for downloading. If you want to use the video version, click on and download the MP4 or FLV version to a folder (to help keep you organized). If you want audio only, download MP3.

9. You are done! You have downloaded a video for use in the classroom for either embedding into an exercise, or for those days when a link is either not functioning or your school’s network is down. If you do this very often, you may wish to store it, for educational purposes, onto a CD.