Tutorial: Downloading Videos From YouTube

Did you ever find the perfect video to show to a class?  Did you ever find that video on YouTube?  If so, then you probably encountered several problems in your attempts to show this video to your class.  Many schools have YouTube blocked, therefore no one on a school computer may visit YouTube's website.  Or maybe you don't have an internet connection in your classroom.  What I'm going to show you today is a simple way to download that video from YouTube so that you can have it on your computer to show to your class, free from the previous restrictions that I mentioned.

First, you're going to need Firefox, a free internet browser available here.  After you have Firefox installed and running, you need to download and install an add-on for Firefox called, DownloadHelper.  In your Firefox browser go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006/.  At this page click on the "Add to Firefox" button and follow any instructions that you are given.

Next, direct the Firefox browser to the YouTube page where your desired video is located.Click on "Tools" in the menu bar, then highlight "Download Helper."  From the menu that pops up, highlight "Media."  A new menu will appear that lists all of the available media for you to download from that web page.  You will need to select a file that has a .FLV extension.  You may notice that there may be several different versions of the video clip, each followed by a different number (240p, 360p, 560p for example).  Choose whichever file has a higher number value.  This means that the video you are downloading will be higher quality when you view it on your computer.  Highlight the file that you want, then click on "Download."  You will then be asked where wish to save the file.  Designate a location and then click "OK."

The file should download to your designated location.  Once it is complete you can attempt to open it, however not all video players will play .FLV files, and if yours does then that is great, but there is no guarantee that the video will be able to play in Powerpoint or imported into a movie editing program.  You will need a video converter program to do that.  A friend of mine who is a teacher recommends Pazera.  It is a free and simple to use program. 

I hope this helps anyone who has ever wanted to download videos from YouTube.  DownloadHelper can be a bit tricky sometimes so if you don't get all of the steps done correctly the first time don't despair.  Also, if you have suggestions on other methods please let everyone know by commenting!