So Long Teachertube
I’ve been a loyal user of Teachertube for the last 2+ years. I’ve been hosting the movies from Video in the Classroom on their site.
Unfortunately, I have received several complaints over the past year about the movies not playing all the way through and/or not playing at all. The first time I got a complaint I thought that the problem was with my web site visitor’s computer. However, I logged into Teachertube after not logging in for some time and was really disappointed to find changes to the site. I can’t explain it exactly but the view is just extremely cluttered and it even appeared at first as though I had no videos on the site when in fact I have about ten. There are too many ads on the page and using the search function launches a google web search instead of a screen with the site’s movies. It’s difficult to find what you’re looking for. While I recognize and appreciate the site’s need for revenue, these changes make the site unbearable and not very user friendly.
I’m disappointed that Teachertube is not working out because I believe that there should be a central place for teachers to upload educational videos and because Teachertube is not blocked by many school districts. However, I’ve given them enough time to get their act together and they haven’t. I’ve even had trouble viewing other people’s movies.
Hello Vimeo
For this reason I’ve uploaded my movies to Vimeo which I’ve seen used by some of my fellow bloggers with few problems. It takes a few seconds for the movie to start but once it does, the movies play all the way through. I also appreciate that the advertising is kept to a minimum.
Please check out my movies on Vimeo. If Vimeo is blocked for you then you can still see the movies on Teachertube but be forewarned that the movies likely will not play al the way through without stopping.
Have you had a similar experience? Where do you upload your movies?
I have not had the same problems with TeacherTube. It has been a blessing to me and my students. We now upload photos, audio, and I post my kids homework in the documents section.
I still love TeacherTube and will continue to use. With Viemo I to do not have a central location for all my media. That’s what TeacherTube is doing for me.
My fellow teachers are now using TeacherTube and are collective thinking about buying TeacherTube MySite (http://teachertubemysite.com) where we all as a staff can create our own TeacherTube for our school.
I guess I am just a TeacherTube fan for life.
Sarah
I use a Ning network (Ning.com). With Ning, you can have blogs, upload photos, create groups that are class-specific, and even create forums! But if all you want to do is create content for viewing or reading, you need only have you as a member of your network, otherwise all your students would have to become members of the site (which is problematic).
Thank you both for your comments.
I was not aware that you could add additional files to Teachertube pages. However, that’s not a feature I need. The one thing I do need, for it to play movies without pausing, it doesn’t seem to do.
I use Ning networks for many purposes and sharing videos is one of them. However, I don’t believe you can embed a movie uploaded to Ning on another site. What I need is for the movies on Vimeo/Teachertube to embed on my own web page.
Both of you might be interested in Fliggo.com which allows you to set up your own video network (like a private Youtube) for free.
My purpose for posting is not to convince you to use a particular service but to share my experience and apologize for those who haven’t been able to see our class movies successfully.
I have used SchoolTube.com for posting class related videos in the past. We have an strict filter at our school which makes access to any video or social networking sites impossible. I have not used it this last year, due to being on a leave of absence, but I have hopes of using it again next year. You can sign up as an instructor, which gives you pseudo administrative rights; basically any of your students that want to post videos will be approved by you before being posted. Hope this is helpful!