Most educators today will agree that YouTube contains a wealth of educational information. Unfortunately, many teachers are hesitant to show YouTube videos in class because they run the real risk of exposing students to inappropriate material. Even if you know the video itself is appropriate, you have had no control over the comments for the video or the "related videos" shown to the side... until now.
ViewPure is a great website that basically strips all of the unnecessary junk (comments, related videos, suggestions, etc.) away and just shows the video you want to watch. To use ViewPure, copy the link of the video into the site's "purifier" and click "Create". This will create a unique link for this video free of any distractions. This link can be shared with students if you would like them to view a video from home.
To make it even easier, ViewPure's website has a "purify" button that you can drag to become a permanent part of your web browser's address bar. This button does the same function as described above without having to visit the ViewPure website. Just open a video on YouTube, then click on the "purify" button in your address bar to remove all of the extras.
Before ViewPure: Notice all of the clutter...related videos, comments, and extra information.
After ViewPure: All of the clutter is gone! There are a few links at the top which allow you to share the video with others.
Additional Resources
Learn about the "YouTube for Schools" community! There is plenty of helpful information on why and how to use YouTube in your class. You can submit or search for content-specific "playlists" of videos. For example, check out my Chemistry Playlist. These are all of the videos I have saved that I find useful to show during my chemistry classes.
12 Useful YouTube Accessories for Teachers and Students
This "Free Tech 4 Teachers" blog post gives additional suggestions for removing clutter, as well as tools for cutting and remixing YouTube videos, and editing videos within YouTube itself.
I have my own YouTube channel, manage a few science playlists, and "subscribe" to authors of videos I find helpful (such as Bill Nye, Steve Spangler, and Discovery Channel). If you are interested in using YouTube more in your class and have questions about any of its features, I would be happy to help you out.
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