New Face Blurring tool on YouTube

Most teachers I speak to can see the real potential and value in the use of YouTube, and that's not just for curriculum enhancement, but also to support Class Blogs or e-portfolios.

YouTube Blur Tool Hates Your Face

However, the same old concerns are raised again and again, such as - 'its not-safe for children to be seen on', 'its unprotected', 'open to violation' and so on.... I must add that all of these concerns are genuine and should never be taken lightly or ignored, but before you know it, the teachers' enthusiasm for using YouTube at all has gone in an instant.
For the busy teacher, the battle against security issues is just too hard to fight.
Im pleased to be able to announce that if you are keen on exploring the idea of embedding student 'learning videos or diaries' in a school blog, there is some good news enabling you to tighten -up security issues. YouTube has recently made available a new-editing tool specifically designed to enable blurring of faces, which can be accessed from the YouTube video editor. Watch a YouTube video about it here.


On his blog Mr Byrne has provided detailed instructions on how to use the tool which Ive summarised below. This is complete with screenshots to help you 'switch-on' the various options, and I'd recommend any serious teacher blogger, who is considering adding footage of pupils onto their school blog visits this article for more information.

How to use the Face Blurring tool:
1. Upload your video to YouTube.
2. Open the enhancements option for your video.
3. Select blur all faces from the quick fixes tab. NB. Blurring is irreversible so make sure you have a back-up of the original video - just in case!

For more information contact me: barbaraainscough@mac.com

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