And parents by the hundreds are taking notice of their online message as the strike enters its second week.

The Bellevue teachers union has posted at least three videos on youtube.com, each with its own theme. (Scroll down to the bottom of the story to see two of the videos.)

"Parents were asking us for more information, and it was an easy, simple way for us to get our message out to the parents," says Bellevue technology teacher Jeff Mason, who produced the videos.

"YouTube allows us to present our view - or really, the other view - in a simple, easy-to-use, easy-to-access manner for parents."

YouTube, best known for hosting off-the-wall videos or political campaign bloopers, can just as easily be used to get out the union's message to parents and students at no cost.

Mason, who often uses YouTube to post school lessons, now takes his video camera to the picket lines to get interviews with teachers about issues like compensation, cirriculum and health care - making it possible for them to be heard.

In one of the videos, a teacher says, "I've got two kids and child care and I'm really struggling with the reality of doing what I love and still support my family."

In another, a teacher says, "One of the things that really gets me about this issue of the curriculum is directly the idea that there is one best lesson, when everything I learned in my preparation to be a teacher ... has really been targeting skills and ways that I can personalize my lesson to the needs of the unique students that I am teaching. And so I'm being pulled in two directions."

Mason says the response to the videos from parents is heartening to the teachers union.

"The response from parents is really amazing," he says. "It really is an effective way to present our side of the story."

The access seems to be working - the videos together have gotten more than 2,000 hits.

"I think the best thing we hear from parents is, 'Thank you for showing us the other side. All we hear is the district's side."

Now entering the second week of the strike - the information getting out to the public is growing, as teachers continue to use their technical savvy to get their story told.

(Visit the school district's Web site at www.bsd405.org. Visit the teachers union's Web site at www.bellevueea.org.)