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The nonprofit TED, famous for their 18-minute lectures on a vast variety of topics, which some credit with sparking an intellectual movement, has a new YouTube channel for teachers and professors.

It's called TED-Ed. The full launch is expected in April, but a smattering of videos is available now, in five categories:

  • Awesome Nature
  • How Things Work
  • Playing With Language
  • Questions No One (Yet) Knows the Answers To
  • Inventions that Shaped History

Each video teams an educator with an animator, and given TED's track record, they are virtually guaranteed to be of the highest quality both in terms of presentation style and the ideas presented.

These videos are shorter than TED's 18-minute standard. Obviously one can't expect a great depth in a short video, but these might serve as good conversation starters, either in the classroom or online.

Here's an example, in which Jason Munshi-South shows how animals develop genetic differences in evolution, even within an urban city.

You can check out all the TED-Ed videos on their new YouTube channel.

CAT was fortunate to be able to co-sponsor the sixth annual Rising Tide conference last weekend. It was a great success by most every measure, with programming on a diverse variety of topics.

One panel of particular interest was "Social Media, Social Justice," examining the intersection and interaction of social network services with the struggle for a more just and humane society. (Perhaps I'm prejudiced because I helped put this one together.) Here's the video.

Xavier's Kimberly Joy Chandler (Communications) moderates; other panelists are Jordan Flaherty, James Huck and Stephen Ostertag. Sadly Cherri Foytlin was stranded in Charlotte by Hurricane Irene so she does not appear, but thanks to Mary Joyce for filling in on short notice.

You can embed a YouTube video in your course. When you embed a YouTube video you will see the YouTube video player with the video clip inside your Bb course. Alternatively, you can create an external link to a YouTube video by following the steps listed in Bb Tip #11. If you create an external link, you create a clickable link to the YouTube video. You will not see the YouTube video player inside your course. You only see the clickable link.

Note: YouTube is a third party website and we are not responsible for its content. You should read YouTube terms and conditions before using any videos. You can get additional information on copyrights in this article on Copyright Risks in Embedding YouTube Clips.

Follow these steps to do it.
In a separate web browser window (or web browser tab) find the YouTube video you wish to embed. Look for the text box labeled Embed. Click the [Embed] button (located in the video information to the right of the video). The HTML code for the video should be highlighted. Copy the embed link by pressing CTRL-C (or Command +C on a Mac). In another web browser window (or web browser tab) get into the [Control Panel] of the course you want to embed the YouTube video into. Click on the content area where you would like to place the video. Click on the [Add Item] button. Click the [Toggle HTML Source Mode] button. Paste the embed text you copied into the text box by pressing CTRL-V (or Command +V on a Mac). Click the [Toggle HTML Source Mode] button to toggle back to normal view. You should see your video in the text box. Under Options choose the appropriate options for content availability, tracking views and any date/time restrictions. Click the [Submit] button when you are done.

Want more information?
Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418