Searching for videos is my number one frustration when it comes to using technology in the classroom. I have tons of videos saved as bookmarks on my laptop, but keeping them all straight and finding videos easily can be very time consuming. Boclips makes it so easy to search for relevant content and save videos to use for years to come! This post details how you can maximize your search and walks you through the best way to save the awesome videos you find.
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It’s time for Part 4 of my Boclip series. As mentioned above, today we will be talking all about how to search and save videos on this awesome new platform. You can check out the first three parts of this series below:
- Part 1: Boclips: Educational Videos for Teachers
- Part 2: Using Video in the Classroom
- Part 3: How to: Share Videos and Generate QR Codes
If you haven’t used Boclips yet, it’s a free site that has educational videos that you can use in your classroom. Best thing about Boclips, the videos are all ad-free and there are no pesky pop-ups either! Click here to create your free account.
Searching on Boclips:
I try to use videos in a variety of different ways in my classroom. They keep the lessons engaging and exciting. Simply searching for a video to use can take up tons of prep time! Boclips makes it easy to search for relative content for your subject matter. Here are some tips to maximize your search:
- Use the video in window preview option. This has been the biggest time saver for me! You can preview a video right from the search screen, no reason to click into full screen mode. The video will be small, but it is easy to tell within the first few seconds if it is what I am looking for (obviously I watch the whole thing before showing my students).
- Get specific with your search. The video library on Boclips is huge. Don’t waste time searching for “electricity” when you are really looking for “electrical circuits”. The more specific the better. If you don’t find what you are looking for with that search, you can trim down the specificity and search more broad terms.
- Scan the video lengths before previewing a video. The videos on Boclips vary in length. I have used videos that are as short as 30 seconds and as long as 12 minutes. The video length is listed on the original search screen on the video description (top right).
- Type in key words – don’t use phrases. It’s okay if your search doesn’t make 100% sense. Using key words only is a great way to bring up videos that cover the standard you are looking for.
- Search for a collection to cover your standard. Boclips offers a collection option to gather videos that focus on a specific subject matter. You can scroll through the collections to find multiple videos that you can use.
Saving Videos with Boclips:
I think this is my favorite feature of Boclips (next to it being ad-free). Boclips allows you to curate video collections. When you do a video search, there is an option to “save”. When you click this, you can save it to any existing collection or create a new collection to save it to. I have collections for math vocabulary, social studies, force/motion, landforms, influential people biographies, and more. The options are truly endless.
You have complete control over your collections. You can go in and edit collections (delete videos, rename it, add additional videos, delete the entire collection, etc.). All video collections are private when they are first created and you can make it public under the collection options.
Another option would be to copy the link from a video and create QR codes or share directly with your students via Google Classroom (or similar management system).
So tell me, have you checked out Boclips yet? What else do you want to know about the site?