Webware ran an article last night about some recent enhancements to the open source video and audio player Miro. I’ve written about Miro a few times in the past because I think that it is an excellent alternative to iTunes and Windows Media Player (note, I said it’s an alternative not that it is necessarily better). The recent enhancements to Miro are mostly aesthetic changes to the user interface and some database changes that you can read about here.

Miro is a video player that host thousands of video channels aggregated from major media outlets like the AP, CBS, PBS. Miro also aggregates content from user generated video websites like YouTube and Vimeo. The best feature of Miro is that every video you play can be downloaded directly to your computer for use at a later date. The advantage of a downloaded video is that you avoid skipping or stuttering videos resulting from slow Internet connections.

To learn more about Miro, watch this short video overview.

Applications for Educators
Miro is a great way to download videos to use offline. If you work in a school that blocks most video sites, Miro is a good application to have installed on your laptop. You can download videos within your Miro player in a place where you can get on the Internet and then play them back at any time regardless of Internet availability. The mainstream media channels on Miro provide thousands of videos relevant to all content areas.