Scenario:
Expert Student is preparing a lecture with PowerPoint on Barbershop Quartets and wants to include extracts from the soundtrack only of several YouTube videos.
Assuming that Fair Use or some other provision of the Copyright Act applies, or you get permission from the copyright holder of the video, these are the steps (for Windows XP/Vista and PowerPoint 2003/2007):
Vixy method
- Copy the URL of the video on YouTube.
- Visit http://vixy.net and paste into the big URL field.
- In the Converts to box, select MP3 (Audio only), and click the Start button.
- When Windows Media Player begins playing the track, view the Now Playing tab and right-click the (random) filename and choose Open File Location.
- File > Rename, to give it a meaningful name.
- Drag and drop the file onto a PowerPoint slide.
- Use SlideShow > Custom Animation > Effect Options to specify when the track should start and how long the track should continue to play.
- Don’t forget to Package for CD when you finalise the PowerPoint presentation, to ensure that the sound travels with the PowerPoint file.
Alternatives
Zamzar.com – will email a link to the converted file, so you have the extra step of opening email and clicking through to activate the download. Zamzar also has variable delay.
VLC Media Player – if already installed on your computer. The easiest way is to use File > Wizard > Network > HTTP, and paste the URL. The appropriate output format is MP3.
References:
- Australian Copyright Council 2008. Education and Teaching. Australian Copyright Council. Available at http://www.copyright.org.au/information/education/education.htm
- Vixy.Net 2008. Online FLV Converter : Download online videos direct to PC / iPod / PSP. It’s free! Vixy.Net. Available at http://vixy.net/flv_converter
- Zamzar 2008. Free online file conversion. Zamzar.com. Available at http://zamzar.com
- VideoLAN.org 2008. VLC Media Player 0.9.4. VideoLAN. Available at http://www.videolan.org/vlc