Update November 2023: ViewPure is no longer working. Check out a similar and even more powerful alternative called SafeShareTV
ViewPure is the topic of our blog post today!
YouTube is a powerful video resource to use in your instruction. It offers video content covering almost anything you want from learning how to dance to watching the latest James Web’s pictures of the planets millions of years away. In fact, YouTube is now being used as an alternative search engine to Google. A growing number of people opt for video results instead of textual content.
However, the unlimited access to YouTube videos comes with a cost: annoying clutter. You all know the amount of distraction that accompanies YouTube videos from the rolls of suggested videos to ads and comments, your viewing experience takes a tool.
When it comes to sensitive video content (e.g., politics, religion, diet, etc), the comments section can turn into a heated battleground with all kinds of weird and expreme ideas published unrestricted.
For us in education, YouTube, unfortunately, is blocked in several schools. Even in those that allow it, YouTube in its current form, still poses a number of challenges most important of which is age-restricted content especially the one that shows up in thumbnails, suggested videos. There is also the problem of inappropriate content in the comment section Solution? ViewPure.
What is ViewPure?
ViewPure is an online platform that allows you to watch YouTube videos in a clean and clutter-free interface. ViewPure eliminates comments, ads and related videos providing you with a student friendly interface to watch YouTube videos. In this way, you can watch YouTube videos with students and kids with the minimum distraction possible.
Keep in mind that all ViewPure does is purify the video page from distracting features. It does not filter or select videos for you to watch though you can use the search settings to search for videos. Also, keep in mind that not all YouTube videos are supported in ViewPure, only those that can be embedded work on the platform.
ViewPure features
Besides removing clutter from YouTube videos, ViewPure also provides a number of interesting features. For instance, you can customize the URL of YouTube videos and create easily memorable URLs .
You can also use ‘password protection’ feature when sharing purified videos with others. Only those with the password can view the video. If you want to share only a specific portion of the video, use ViewPure to set a start and end time.
ViewPure enables you to embed purified YouTube videos on your class website or blog. Simply click on the ‘Embed this Video’ button and grab the generated code.
Another great feature that is especially ideal for us in education is the ability to create private groups of students inside ViewPure where you can share purified videos. Students can access these videos using their own logins and passwords.
You can also create playlists with specific videos for students to watch. “This is most often used for brain-improving music in the classroom that runs for hours as background music for tests.”
How does ViewPure work?
The way ViewPure works is very simple and easy:
- Copy URL of the YouTube video you want to purify
- Open ViewPure and paste the URL into the search box
- Click on Purify
- Crop parts you don’t want from the video
- Choose whether you want to add the purified video to a playlist, embed it in a website or blog, or generate a QR Code to share with others.
ViewPure for Schools
ViewPure offers a special plan for school and district accounts with a number of interesting features including analytic oversights showing how many videos teachers loaded, as well as the number of playlists and groups teachers load.
Using the admin control panel, school and district admins can change passwords and block people from the system once they leave the school or district. They can also add or remove teachers or migrate staff from one school to another, and many more.
How much does ViewPure cost?
ViewPure offers a free account that includes all the platform’ s features but comes with ads. There is also the Pro Account which costs $4.95/month or 49.50/year. The School and District Account comes with a discount, “only pay for the first 20 Teachers of a school building. All the rest are free.”
Alternatives to ViewPure
If you are looking for similar websites to ViewPure, SafeShare TV is a good alternative. SafeShare removes all distracting features from videos including links to related videos, inappropriate ad prerolls, and annotations thus providing a safer watching experience.
Check out SafeShare TV full review to learn more. Watch2Gether is another good YouTube tool to try out but this does not remove distractions but rather provide you with a private virtual space where you can watch videos with students.
Final thoughts
Wrapping up, YouTube’s expansive video library offers an ocean of learning opportunities, yet navigating through its waves of distractions can be quite the odyssey. The clutter of ads, the entanglement of suggested content, and the sometimes unruly comment sections are barriers that can detract from its educational value.
ViewPure is here to help. It offers a beacon for educators seeking to harness YouTube’s potential in a focused, student-friendly manner. By stripping away the non-essentials, ViewPure presents a clean interface for video engagement, empowering teachers to facilitate a more controlled and distraction-free viewing experience.
This tool aligns with the need for purified content delivery, offering customized URLs and the potential to foster private video-sharing communities for educational purposes. The provision of free and premium accounts, including a specialized plan for schools, reflects a thoughtful consideration of varied institutional needs. With alternatives like SafeShare TV and Watch2Gether waiting in the wings, educators have a suite of options to tailor their digital video use to the classroom’s pulse and their pedagogical intent.
