How to Customize Video Playback in PowerPoint

Whether it's to illustrate a point, to tug at heart strings, or to provide comic relief a good video clip can help move a presentation along. But that's not the case if you have to spend time searching for a segment of a video in the middle of your presentation. That's why you should try to set a specific playback marker when inserting videos into your PowerPoint slides. 

You can customize video playback in PowerPoint when you use videos that are stored on your computer as well as when you use videos that are hosted on YouTube. When you use a video that is hosted on your computer you can specify a start and end time for the video clip. When you use a video that is hosted on YouTube you can specify a start time. If you have the choice between using a video clip that is stored on your computer or one that is hosted on YouTube, use the one that is stored on your computer. In this short video you can see why that matters. 

In this video I demonstrate how to insert videos into your PowerPoint slides and how to customize the playback of those videos. 

Wakelet Adds Reactions

Wakelet is a service that continues to add useful features for teachers and students. One of the ways that I like to use Wakelet is to have students share things that they've learned during the week. This week Wakelet added a new feature that let's you quickly give feedback to your students and for students to give feedback to each other. That new feature is called Reactions. With Wakelet Reactions you and your students can give feedback in the forms of thumbs-up emojis, smiles, similar positive reactions. 

In this short video I demonstrate how to use Wakelet's new Reactions feature. 

Applications for Education
Using reactions is a quick and easy way to provide some feedback to your students when they post in a Wakelet collection. In this blog post I outlined five ways that you can use Wakelet in your classroom.

Watch this video to learn how to start using Wakelet.

How to Create Animated Valentine's Day Cards

On Wednesday I shared a video about how to make edible glass candy hearts. That activity could get messy in your classroom or kitchen. If you're looking for a digital Valentine's Day activity, consider creating animated Valentine's Day cards. 

Canva offers free templates for creating greeting cards for all occasions including Valentine's Day. Many of those templates can be quickly turned into animated GIFs with just one click. In this short video I demonstrate how to create an animated Valentine's Day card by using Canva's free greeting card templates.