Welcome to the eighth step in our free self-paced course to help you set up your own personal or professional educator blog!

The aim of this step is to:

  • Share some free tools for creating videos online
  • Explain some different methods for creating videos offline
  • Explain the copyright implications of using videos
  • Provide an overview of different video hosting websites
  • Teach you how to embed videos into your blog posts and pages


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Why Use Video?

Traditionally, blog posts were all about text and images. However, videos can really bring your blog alive and make the visitor experience more engaging and interactive.

Below is an overview of some tools you can use to create your own videos, along with examples and tutorials. We also offer guidance on using videos created by others.

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Online Video Creation

Making your own videos is easier than ever! There are online options that are:

  • free/paid
  • simple/complex
  • for editing/creating
  • for all ages/restricted to over 13 or 18
  • designed for video footage/images/animation

Here are a few options for creating different sorts of videos using online tools. Feel free to share your own ideas too!

Screencasting (Loom)

Screencasting is where you narrate a video recording of your computer screen. Sometimes it’s just audio and sometimes you can see your face in the video as well.

One free tool that you may find particularly useful is Loom. Check out this blog post about Loom by Kathleen Morris if you want to learn more.

For a very simple example, you could narrate a Google Slide presentation as per the example below made for our Better Blogging With Students course.

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Make Your Post Into A Video (Lumen5)

This promo video for our Better Blogging With Students course was made with a free online tool called Lumen5.

It’s a simple way to make a slideshow type video.

It can even “automagically” make your blog post into a video (for best results you’ll need to edit it slightly).

Lumen5 contains a library of Creative Commons Zero images and music so you don’t need to search for content either (although you can use your own pictures and video).

You can’t embed your video directly onto your blog currently. So you have to put it on social media or YouTube first and then get the embed code from there. Or you could download the video and upload it directly into your post/page.
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Animation (PowToon or Biteable)

There are a number of ways you can create simple animations online. Two free tools you might be interested in exploring with your students include PowToon and Biteable.

Both of these tools have free plans and can be used by students under 13, however, they do require students to sign up via email. I contacted both companies to confirm the age restrictions. PowToon recommended supervision or using a paid classroom account (obviously, supervision is always a good idea!)

One benefit of PowToon over Biteable is that you can download your finished product as a PowerPoint or PDF file. You can only download your Biteable creation with a paid plan.

You can embed both tools into your blog posts or pages.

PowToon Example

This is a video a student made for the Student Blogging Challenge about quality commenting.


Biteable Example

Another student taking part in the challenge created this Biteable about YAPPY.

What is YAPPY? on Biteable.

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Offline Video Creation

You can make videos in the traditional way too. You don’t need any fancy equipment either — a phone, tablet, or webcam can work just fine!

Here are three ideas that might work for your blog posts.

Piece To Camera

I know, I know… who likes getting in front of a camera? Most teachers would avoid it at all costs! But it is really a great way to connect with your readers.

Here is an example Linda Yollis made to welcome her new students to the classroom.

Get creative with a green screen!

Check out this video from Tony Vincent who made a welcome back video for his students. Tony used green screen technology to make the clever background!

Want to learn more about green screens?

10 Filming Tips

There are a few things you can do to enhance the quality of your piece to camera.

  • Lighting: This is really important! Sit near a window if you can or add lamps etc. Aim for even natural light. Don’t have a window behind you.
  • Audio: Your phone or computer will record video just fine (in good lighting) but the audio quality won’t be great. Add an external microphone if possible.
  • Tripod: If you’re using a phone, it needs to be steady. Many discount stores now sell basic phone tripods. You can elevate these on furniture as needed.
  • Location: Keep your background simple and film in a quiet location (easier said than done at school?).
  • Clean your lens: Especially if you’re filming on your phone, wipe that dirty lens.
  • Horizontal: If you’re using a phone, turn it on its side. If you want to know why your video should be horizontal, you might enjoy this very funny video.
  • Raise your device: If you’re using a laptop to film, you might want to raise it so you’re at eye level. Same with a phone or tablet.
  • Front facing camera: If you’re alone, switch the camera so you can see where you are in the frame (consider positioning yourself slightly off center in the frame).
  • Look at the lens: Find the tiny hole and try to make eye contact with it. Smile!
  • Record: Whether or not you want to actually script what you want to say is up to you. A more natural approach may be to create a few notes or an outline, rather than scripting or reading. Pace yourself and enjoy!

Want to share these tips with your students or colleagues? Download the PDF.

10 Tips For Filming A Piece To Camera | Video tips from Edublogs | The Edublogger

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Film Your Lesson

Have you ever thought about recording your lessons and publishing them, not just for your own class, but for anyone who wants to watch and learn?

Eddie Woo is a Sydney maths teacher who has done just that.

Eddie’s award winning work has earned him a huge following with students from across the world.

Eddie has a YouTube channel and houses his videos on his blog too.

Here is an example

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As you can see, it’s nothing fancy but it works!

Of course, students can “be the teacher” too and record tutorials for other students.

A Note On Editing Software

Most people know how to record a video. It can be as simple as opening the camera function on your phone and hitting record.

But then what do you do with your raw video?

It’s not always essential, but you’ll generally want to do some basic editing. This can include things like:

  • Adding text titles or captions
  • Adding music
  • Chopping out certain parts of the video
  • Mixing together video and images

If you use a Mac computer, the go-to program is generally iMovie. You can also use the iMovie app on your iPhone or iPad if you have one.

It’s a little more complicated on a Windows computer. Windows Movie Maker used to be a popular choice for simple editing but it has been discontinued now.

If you are not a complete beginner with video editing, you might want to check out a free program called Shotcut. This tutorial video by Teacher’s Tech shows you how to get started.

Let us know your choice of video editor in a comment!

Copyright And Videos

Video is more confusing than images because you see a lot of remixed videos online or videos using commercial music, especially on YouTube.

You are free to embed any video from YouTube, Vimeo, BlipTV, WatchKnowLearn, etc. on your blog or website as long as it gives you the embed option.

That being said, you can’t necessarily use parts from videos on YouTube (or other sources) to make mashups or as part of another video.

If you use any video that you are cutting, making changes to, or adding to a project, or adding audio, it is better to:

  • use Creative Commons content, or
  • use free or public domain content, or
  • request permission from the copyright holder

You can read more about Creative Commons and free or public domain content here. Refer to The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons for comprehensive information on the use of images, curriculum docs, text and quotes, music, videos.

Watch this video on Creative Commons for a simple explanation.


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YouTube Copyright Basics

If you do use copyright content on YouTube this is what might happen:

  1. The video and/or audio is pulled because of a DMCA complaint, copyright infringement, or content ID match.
  2. No action is taken but they might add an advertisement to your video that says ‘Buy this song’.

The following videos are good for explaining video copyright to younger students.

  1. YouTube Copyright school video
  2. YouTube Copyright Basics



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Video hosting websites

Videos from video hosting websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Media Core, SchoolTube, and Google Drive can be easily embedded into posts or pages.

This is handy when you:

  • have large video files you want to add to your blog posts
  • want to play your video within an embedded player, or
  • want to embed a video created by someone else into your posts.

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YouTube

YouTube is the most popular video sharing and viewing website. It has over one billion users which is around one-third of all people on the internet.

While some schools block YouTube, there are lots of educators who use YouTube to share videos they or their students have created. Teachers also use YouTube to source video resources to use in the classroom or for their professional practice.

We recommend you set up a class or teacher YouTube account if you plan to upload videos or create YouTube Playlists because this helps separate your work videos from your personal videos.

YouTube Playlists are a fantastic way of compiling a list, or group, of videos that play in order to share with students. When one video finishes playing the next video starts. Using YouTube playlists, you can control the start and finish times of each video — this is handy if you want students to watch specific parts of videos.

Watch this video tutorial to learn how to create YouTube Playlists.


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Vimeo

Vimeo is another popular video sharing and viewing website. Fewer videos are hosted on Vimeo compared to YouTube. Vimeo is less likely to be blocked in schools compared to YouTube which is why it’s a popular video hosting website for uploading videos for class and for finding videos to use in class.

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Google Drive

Google Drive allows you upload video files up to 10 GB in size on your desktop computer or using the Google Drive app on your mobile device. You can then share them with select people or embed them into posts and websites.

Google Drive is a popular video hosting option for schools using Google Apps for education. Many of our Google Apps for education schools upload their videos to Google Drive and use the embed code to add to their posts.

Once you’ve uploaded your video to Google Drive you need to:

1.  Click on the video or photo you want to embed and then click on the More icon and select Share.

Click on Share

2.  Click on Advanced option in Share window.

Click on Advanced option

3.  Click on Change next to Private.

Click on Change

4.  Click on On – Anyone with a link or On – Public on the web and then click on Save.

Change sharing

5.  Click on Done to close the Share window.

6.  Click on the More icon and then Open in new window link.

Open in new window

7.  Click on the More icon in the new window and select Embed item.

Click on Embed Item

8.  Copy the embed code.

Copy the embed code

9.  Paste the embed code into your post using Insert Embed in the Add Media Window and then click Insert into Post.

Paste the embed code

10.  Once your post is published you’ll see your photo or video embedded.


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Embedding videos into posts

Videos from video sharing websites can be embedded into posts or pages by either using:

  1. Their video URL
  2. Their embed code

(Note: embed code is not allowed on Edublogs free blogs due to misuse by spammers).

Using the Video URL

Edublogs allows you to quickly embed videos, images and other content such as Tweets and Scribd into a post or page using their URL.

Websites that you can embed using their URL are:

  1. blip.tv
  2. DailyMotion
  3. Flickr – videos and images
  4. Photobucket
  5. Qik
  6. Scribd
  7. Twitter
  8. Viddler
  9. Vimeo
  10. YouTube – public videos only
  11. WordPress.tv

You embed a video using the URL as follows:

1. Copy the video’s URL from your web browser’s address bar while viewing the video.

  • For YouTube videos, you need to use the video URL listed in Share this video.

Copy video URL

2. Go to Posts > Add New or Pages > Add New or open an existing post or page in editing mode.

3. Paste the URL on a line by itself in your post/page editor.

Paste the video URL

Important URL Embed Tips

The link must be on its own line without any characters or white spaces before or after the URL. It must not be hyperlinked otherwise it won’t embed.

You can tell if a URL is hyperlinked by clicking on the link. If the hyperlink button in the toolbar highlights and a link box with the option to edit appears (like in the screenshot below), it means your link is hyperlinked.

Click on Remove link icon to remove the hyperlink.

Remove link


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Using Embed Code

You can also embed videos using their embed code if you have an Edublogs Pro or CampusPress blog.

This is handy when you want to change the size of the video embed, remove related videos when embedding YouTube videos, or are embedding from a video sharing websites where you can’t use the video URL (e.g. TED Talks, SchoolTube or TeacherTube).

Here is how you remove suggested videos in YouTube using embed code:

1.  Click on Share underneath the YouTube video you want to embed.

2.  Click on Embed and then on Show More.

3.  Deselect Show suggested videos when the video finishes.

4.  Copy the embed code.

Youtube options

5.  Go to Posts > Add New or Pages > Add New.

6.  Place your cursor where you want the video to appear and then click on the Add Media button.

Click on Add Media

7.  In the Add Media window click on the Insert Embed Code tab.

Click on Insert Embed Code

8.  Paste the video embed code into the embed code field.

Paste embed code

9.  Click on Insert into Post.

10.  Your Add Media window will close and the embed will appear in the visual editor as shown below.

Embedded video

11.  When you view your published post you will see your video.


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Your Task

We’d like you to add your voice and ideas to our ongoing conversation about blogging by undertaking one or more of these challenges:

  1. Share a video: Find a video on a site like YouTube or Vimeo that you would like to share and embed it into a blog post. If you have a free blog, use the URL method that was explained in the post. Then leave a comment with your blog URL so we can take a look.
  2. Try a tool: Choose one or more of the video creation tools mentioned and try using the tool yourself (or with your students). Leave a comment with a link to where you’ve embedded the video so we can check out how you went.
  3. Be brave! Make a short piece to camera and embed it in a blog post (or upload it to a site like YouTube and share the link with us).
  4. Other tool suggestions: Leave a comment with a description of some other tools you’ve come across to create or edit videos. Tell us how you’ve used video in the classroom before, or how you use video as part of your professional practice.

Also feel free to leave any questions you are having (or tips/advice) as well.


How to leave a comment: Scroll down to find the comment box. Write your comment, then enter your name and email address (email addresses are not published). Enter the anti-spam word. Press submit and we will moderate your comment ASAP.

114 thoughts on “Step 8: Creating And Using Video

  1. Over the past several weeks, I have been experimenting with many programs to record and edit videos. My goal has been to create tutorial videos for the tasks my colleagues are having difficulty with. This is a new venture for me, so I sought recommendations from our technology lead teacher. After trying those, I checked out what other people are using (such as Richard Byrne – Free Technology for Teachers). Within this step of the challenge, there were even more to try. So, long story short, after trying many options, I like Loom and Screencast-o-matic the best of the ones I have tried. Next fall, when I have a class of my own again, I will expand to creating videos for students and parents (I’m thinking I can use some along with our newsletters).

  2. For my own blog that I will be creating for my club at the university I am attending, I will be collaborating and working with several videographers and thus will be uploading great amount of videos while setting up the blog! The information shown above are relatively useful as t helps me obtain the knowledge on what to keep in mind of and tools to use to make uploading videos easier!

  3. I embedded a youtube video about desert animals and plants.
    yramos2.edublogs.org/2019/03/17/step-8-creating-videos/

  4. http://cramerm.edublogs.org/2019/02/28/blogging-bootcamp/

    I have only played with video making since my kids are 1st grade and we’re only now getting to the point in the year where they are being more independent. I dabbled with Movie Maker in the past, but again, they decided to stop supporting it, which is super sad because it was very user-friendly. I used the Green Screen app by DoInk, which is also very user-friendly. I think my 1st graders could easily use this app. They, of course, could also use the camera on one of our iPads, and upload it to Seesaw, or use the video feature within the Seesaw app. This past Christmas I used the DoInk app and the green screen to create a video of our staff introducing an escape room to our students. We even sang a song that we wrote. It was embarrassment on a large scale, but we owned it.

  5. For the past two years working at a new school learning I have had to learn to use iMovie as we are, for sake of a better description an ‘Apple School’. I particularly like the ‘Trailer’ function that provides you with a wealth of templates, each with its own music, font, text animation etc. Another great tool that I have been using recently is a called ‘Shadow Puppet’ and is a very simple way to throw together photos and short videos with music and text. I use this app at the end of every unit as kind of ‘snap shot of our learning journey’. The free version of the app allows you to put a max of 10 videos/photos together and is able to access your media. If you are in a hurry and want to whip something up easily these are my current go to video editing tools. Having said that though, I am excited to dive a bit deeper into the tools above, particularly the

  6. For this step, I inserted a video on guided reading. This is a topic I will have to teach and that we discussed in class so that’s why I chose this video.

  7. For this step, I did some research on video editing and video making tools that I could use in the classroom. I came across this app called goreact. My class has been using this tool to help give feedback and critique each other’s lessons during our field experiences. Using go react you can record your videos and immediately post it to the site. If you have an account you can see the videos from your class and work. I think this is a great video recording tool.

    http://www.goreact.com

    1. That looks great, Tracy. How handy is Lumen5!

      Kathleen Morris
      Edublogs Community Manager
      @kathleen_morris

  8. I have used the visualizer in the classroom to produce stop motion animations that show the development of coastal landscapes over time.

  9. Step 8 was both fun and challenging. I used the QuickTime Player on my MacBook to screencast me explaining the different tools I used for an online class session. (I did not know it had this feature, but my 12-year-old and I figured out how to do it with the help of Google.) This blog includes references to Padlet, Google Docs, and Backchannelchat.
    I uploaded this screencast video to YouTube to get a code I could embed for my blog.
    By utilizing the menu feature, I have been able to display my blogs on different pages in addition to the home page. http://vujaklijavoice.edublogs.org

  10. I haven’t embedded a video yet as it hasn’t fit my needs, but I do hope to do one on Friday for World Read Aloud Day!

  11. I’m a teacher-librarian. I used Lumen 5, featured above, to create a short slide show of the top circulating non-fiction titles at my school library. I created the video in Lumen 5, uploaded to Youtube, and then embedded to the post. Super easy.

    ttp://alwaysunfolding.edublogs.org/2019/01/16/top-non-fiction-titles-for-2018/

    1. That looks fabulous! The only thing I wish Lumen5 would add is the ability to get an embed code to embed without putting it on YouTube etc first. I asked them on Twitter about this recently and they said they don’t have plans. Shame!

  12. I’ve used the Chrome Screencastify extension. It’s super quick and easy for screencasts. I use it often to show people how to do things like access our library catalog. A free subscription allows making 50 screencasts up to 10 minutes long, but I’ve never needed more than a couple of minutes per tutorial. There is a premium version that allows for longer videos and editing. Maybe one day I’ll upgrade to that. For now, Screencastify works well enough.

    Here is one screencast “tour” I made for a pathfinder I created for grade 8.
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zQIK2GGkNHdK2Ju9n48_6oWoh-KrAbE5/view

  13. A few years ago I used to create some simple videos using Vegas Movie Studio. But to be honest, it was a really tough piece of work and finally, I gave up. It was extremely time consuming and as you can imagine the results were far from Pixar productions;)
    Nevertheless, I still find Vegas Movie Studio as a very good tool. You just need a lot of patience and preferably someone who will teach you some basics.

    1. That’s an interesting reflection on Vegas Movie Studio. I too tried to learn it many years ago but gave up! I was inspired by the work of Shawn Avery who used to create fantastic videos with his students using this program (I’m pretty sure this was the program he used anyway!) http://www.averybunch.com/

  14. I’II do the tasks 1 and 4.

    1. I did not embed the video in a post, but, yes, in footer 2 whose title on my blog is “My Videos”. To see the video, please just scroll down to find the footer.

    4. An interesting tool for the interactivity that it provides with regard to inserting questions and comments in the video itself while it runs – with teacher feedback – is the EdPuzzle – https://edpuzzle.com/.

    In addition, this tool makes it possible to monitor who watches the videos, for how long, which part saw more, and more.

    This enables the teacher to discuss discussions and attitudes / strategies to be taken by the analysis performed. Of course it’s not the only one, but it helps strategy as a part of the whole.

    For those who like this kind of video tool, it’s worth a try.

    Regards

  15. I’m still not brave enough to make my own video, I’m really sorry.
    But I did make an attempt at embedding a video in my newest blog, discussing about the importance of unsubscribing: http://onelifetime.edublogs.org/2018/12/22/please-unsubscribe/
    It was really fun to try out different post formats; for example, quote format can make my quotes stand out, while the video format will be great if I’m just posting one video without texts. Thanks for the instruction!

    1. Don’t worry, Jenny! It took me quite a while to post a video of myself too. Maybe one day you’ll give it a go! What a great post about unsubscribing. The layout of your post makes it really easy to read and it’s quite a novel topic!

  16. Here is the link to access my blog with the link to a video
    http://alansblake.edublogs.org/2018/10/12/critical-reading-strategies/

    I have used imovie A LOT and enjoy the simplicity of it and also that it is easy to use. Here is a video that I made using imovie.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZhOT2n0oWo&feature=youtu.be

    This step has been great to work through and look at the variety of tools that you are able to use to make and also share videos!

    1. What an amazing video of your story! This would be a fantastic prompt for your students. I’m sure they’d enjoy making something similar. Thanks for sharing.

  17. For this final step I found a You tube video about Persona Dolls from Amaze Persona Dolls
    I was able to embed the video in the blog by using Add Media – Insert a You Tube video or by inserting the embed code.
    I also created a video introducing my persona Dolls using the free version of Powtoon which I found enjoyable and easy to use.I was able to embed the video in my blog but it appears as a link rather than the same appearance as the You Tube video.
    My blog post for Step 8 can be read at
    https://jofreitag.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/2015-edublogs-teacher-challenge-step-8/

      1. Thank you very much for all your assistance, Eugene! I have really enjoyed participating in this challenge.
        I noticed after I had installed updates that some of the embedded items which were only showing as a link are now properly embedded but others are still not right. I will keep on playing with it!

  18. Whoa–got my video into my final post for the school year–that was a bit tricky…but I got it! I am familiar with sharing via Google Drive–through school. That was also a new experience this year! Great opportunities through this edublogs challenge!!! thank you!!!

    1. Hi Michelle, it’s so refreshing when people get excited about using new technology. Keep up the hard work. Your blog is looking great!
      Eugene Brown, Edublogs Support

    1. Hi Terresa, and thank you for sharing the video. Adding a caption and brief explanation of the length of the video is really useful. Highlighting when in the video the important information appears, is also a great help!
      Eugene Brown, Edublogs Support

  19. This challenge was very inspiring, I have always used videos on my teaching blog and videos are a fantastic tool for me.
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Musekiwa, I have to agree with you. What I found with my students was, they also enjoyed being able to go through the video content at home in their own time.
      Eugene Brown, Edublogs Support

    1. Hi Dan, I loved the video! It must take great patience to do stop motion animation. The LEGO Movie Maker for ipad looks like a very useful tool. Thanks for sharing!
      Eugene Brown, Edublogs Support

  20. There are SO many great ways to add video to a blog! I have used many of these, but some were new to me (like the lego movie option). I look forward to exploring these more! for this assignment, I added a video to YouTube which I then put the link into my blog post. http://hwmwhirlwind.edublogs.org/2015/02/25/february-24-2015/

    I use video often for my teacher and school website, but I had not really given a lot of thought to using it in a blog until now.

  21. http://teachingandlearning.global2.vic.edu.au/2014/10/12/global-read-aloud-2014/

    While I have explored using Animoto last year to make videos, I find I still go back to MovieMaker on my laptop a lot of the time – simple, basic, doesn’t need internet access……. plus I have used it a lot and while ever since it went “Live” version I haven’t been as happy with it, it is yet to steer me wrong!

    My school videos we create are stored on my school server or on my personal google drive if we wish to share them with anyone. As yet our school does not have a YouTube posting policy and we have only just created a school drive to store promotional videos about the school.

    The YouTube video post is a short one but I love that it is the creator of GRA explaining GRA and what she hopes to happen as a result of the program. It has been great to be a part of this so far and I’m looking forward to many more connections over the next few weeks! Hope you enjoyed the post!

  22. I really love creating videos using web-based tools. I have created a video called “A Glance into Ludwig” with an online tool called ProShow Web. The URL is http://web.photodex.com/.

    Here’s the link to my blog post, showcasing one of the videos I made. This literally took me no more than 15 minutes, start to finish. There’s royalty-free music available right inside the tool, which makes it very easy to use, as well as some terrific visual effects and themed shows. Enjoy!

    http://ludwiglibrary.edublogs.org/2014/09/19/a-glance-into-ludwig/

  23. Hello!

    Come check out my embeded videos. I really like that I have all these videos on my site rather than always having to log into You Tube to access them! Great tool for me! I know that I will be adding a lot more videos in the future! Check out my blog at

    rkorte78@edublogs.org
    All my videos are under my 4K wrap around page. Tell me what you think….

    Thanks,
    Roxanne

    1. Hi Cyndi,

      Thanks for sharing that. It made me think about how young most of my students were when that took place. Looks like a museum I’ll have to visit some day.

      Thanks,
      Dan Leeman, Edublogs Support

  24. I am so excited to learn how to embed a video with only a URL!! My previous comment on Step 7 was rash, for which I apologize. Now, I officially love Edublogs, as if I didn’t already adore it. Below is my post with an embedded YouTube video: http://readlearngrow.edublogs.org/2014/09/10/you-can-learn-anything/

    The video by Khan Academy is very powerful and one of my favorite motivational videos I hope to use in my classroom.

    Thanks, Sue and Dan, for all of your support! I appreciate your time with me individually and your facilitation of this 2014 Edublogs Teacher Challenge.

    1. Hi Sarah,

      I love that Khan Academy video too! They had so much momentum a couple of years ago; I’m excited to see where they go next with that campaign!

      I’m glad embedding with the URL is working for you 🙂

      Congratulations on completing the Teacher Challenge!

      Dan Leeman, Edublogs Support

    1. Hi Dan,

      Yeah, it’s really handy to have the full videos and keep users onsite rather than having to click through a link!

      Dan Leeman, Edublogs Support

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