I was really impressed with the variety of videos at Gaspr. You can even sign up using your FaceBook account. I chose to register as there wasn't as much information required. Although once you register, there is a profile section that they want you to fill out. FaceBook is having issues right now with personal information going to third parties.
I was especially drawn to all the craft videos. While looking at some of the quilting videos, I came across a game quilt video. I have that pattern and recently purchased the material. I plan to make it probably for Christmas. This will be a good place to look if I need any help with the directions. Here is the link: http://www.graspr.com/videos/QRC-Creates-a-Game-Quilt. I did see that this is only the first of several videos. The rest are located on a site that you must be a paid member to view.
One of the features that I like about Gaspr, is that you can see the videos created by a contributor and not just by topic.
Instructables is web-based documentation/instructions. Right now they are having a Halloween contest and lots of ideas for Halloween items. I don't like this site as well. A little complicated as far as looking at the images that go with the documentation. Topics include: Food, Health, Living, Outside, Play, Halloween, Technology, Workshop, & Dremel. I did find instructions to create lighted led wings at http://www.instructables.com/id/Lightwings-Fiber-Optic-Fairy-Wings/ . Cute idea for a little girls costume.
Certain features are for members only for a fee. I did get a good idea to use snaps with a bead/gem glued on to make hair gems. I didn't find that this site was very easy to use because of its organization or lack there of. There are some good low cost practical ideas if you have the time to look.
MonkeySee - See How the Experts Do It, has videos on all different topics. Looks like the videos are done by experts in a particular field and then uploaded. It has featured How to Videos, Featured Videos, Recommended, Most Viewed, Newest, and Hot Now. This site has ads before some of the videos. Under Careers and Education > Elementary School, I found a video How to deal with a shooting at school. My how the times are a changing. She does give her qualifications for dealing with the topic. Videos can be shared to several online apps such as FaceBook, Delicious, Twitter, Digg, Mixx, etc. What I like about this site is that on the right of the video, there is information about the expert, you can save the video to a mobile device, and see a written transcript of the video that can be printed. There are also related videos available. You don't have to be registered to use this site unless you want to be able to save to a list of favorites or write comments.
School How To Sites
- "WatchKnow - Thousands of great short videos, and other media, explaining every topic taught to school kids. Videos come from many sites include YouTube, eHow, National Geographic, TeacherTube, and more.
- TeacherTube – An educationally focused, safe venue for sharing instructional videos; designed for teachers, schools, and home learners.
- Khan Academy – Thousands of short videos created by Salman Khan to explain math concepts from simple to advanced. Useful to students of all levels. " (from Learning 2.0 Blog)
3. The biggest advantage of the online video how to sites is that it is great for the visual learner. The videos can be stopped and viewed again. Many times you can even contact the maker of the video if there are further questions or post a question. I will be anxious to see how many of these sites that I can get to from the school library. If these are not filtered, they are certainly a welcome addition to resources that the library can provide, especially when the budgets for materials are getting smaller.
