TeacherTube Review
Posted on : 12-08-2009 | By : Heidi Hafner | In : Social Networks
Tags: Reviews, Social Networks
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One network that I have been known to use for video uploads is TeacherTube.com. The rules seem pretty specific there, meaning you can’t just drop any ol’ video in their network. It has to be specific to teaching. At least two of my clients have videos that meet the criteria that TeacherTube has for uploading media. Also, both clients’ video are longer than 10 minutes yet under the allotted 100 megabytes. So, you’d think I would be happy! NOT!
On both occasions I have been outraged with TeacherTube. Their method for uploading videos is via your browser. This is not a problem since video upload to networks like this require some background processing to get your movie into a Flash wrapper. Realistically, the uploading time doesn’t seem to be the issue…it went smoothly on my end. The upload itself on my latest video took about 10 minutes. The PROCESSING time seemed to last an eternity! I must have tried to upload 10 times or more with the same results. I would sit an watch the L – O – A – D – I – N – G bar where you can watch the uploading of your video… But then we get to the processing part and after what seems like an enormous amount of time, I get the ol’ ERROR sign… Like some big monster tried to eat my video, digest it and then spat it out for no known reason! What’s with that? It didn’t just happen once… Try 10 times.
So, I am thinking, maybe, just maybe it is my Internet connection. I use my laptop and connect up to my in-house network via wireless connection. Well, that could be a problem, right? So I hook up my laptop to our network via wire instead. I go through the uploading all over again. ERROR! After about 2 more hours of hitting my head against the TeacherTube WALL, my laptop dies… low batteries. Tells you how long I was at it this morning alone.
I finally get booted up and calm, ready to beat my head against that wall a different way, when I log into my clients account and what do you think I found? SIX different uploads of the same video! Yeah, you heard me!
Do I like TeacherTube? I have mixed feelings. Yes, I like that it is teacher specific and they really don’t have a video time limit…but I hate the uploading process so much more. Maybe they should talk to YouTube to find out how they do things.
– More Later
I have experienced the same problems. Very frustrating!!! While sometimes you find the next day several copies of the same video uploaded as you try several times other times the next day there is nothing and all attempts have been unsuccessful. For busy teachers – who has the time to keep trying with so much hit and miss with the upload. It is such a pity as the idea of the site is excellent.
Heidi,
Video processing can be very processor intensive. Think of the video as individual frames. Each frame has to be resized/compressed to make it fit the size that teachertube can display. So you can possibly do some of the re-encoding/resizing on your computer before you upload thereby reduceing the processing time once it reaches teachertube. Or try to use a camera that can capture video at the resolution teachertube is using.
Andrew