SnackVids - Automatic Creation of Searchable Video Transcripts

Update January 2021: The tool mentioned in this article is no longer available. However, you can accomplish the same goal of making a transcript of YouTube videos by following the directions I've outlined in this video. 

SnackVids is a new service that will generate a searchable transcript for any YouTube video of your choosing. To use the service simply copy the URL of a video, paste it into SnackVids, and then let SnackVids generate a transcript. When the transcript is completed it is displayed directly below the video. You can search the transcript for any keyword of your choosing. The keyword will be highlighted on the transcript. Click on the keyword highlighted in the transcript to jump to the corresponding section of the video.

Applications for Education
SnackVids could be a good tool to use when you come across a long tutorial video and want to see if the video will cover a topic or keyword that you're interested in. It's also convenient for jumping directly to specific sections within a video.

As with any automatic transcription tools, the quality of the transcript is dependent on the quality of the audio and the clarity of the narrator.

Fraidy Cats' Book of Courage - An eBook of Writing Prompts

Make Beliefs Comix is a creative writing platform that I have recommended for years. The core of Make Beliefs Comix is a free set of tools that students can use to create their own comics in multiple languages. Here's a video overview of how it works. In addition to the comic strip creation tools, Make Beliefs Comix hosts free ebooks that you can use online or download for free. All of ebooks are designed as fillable PDFs that your students can write in.

The latest ebook published by Make Beliefs Comix is titled Fraidy Cats' Book of Courage. The first half of the book contains comics featuring the title character talking about situations that make him scared and ideas for dealing with those feelings. The second half of Fraidy Cats' Book of Courage contains pages for students to write on in response to prompts like "people who inspire me and courage me to be braver..."

Applications for Education
Comics can make reading and writing seem less intimidating to some students. Free ebooks like Fraidy Cats' Book of Courage can be useful in generating approachable writing prompts for elementary school students.