Best Video Creation Tools for the Classroom
Your students can become the next Ken Burns with these web applications
RSSEvery day, YouTube draws millions of viewers for one reason. People love watching videos. For students, it can be a good learning experience, and creating videos? Even better. There was a time, not too long ago, that making a video required expensive video equipment and software. That’s no longer true. Now, without spending a dime on cameras or software, your students could craft the next great documentary or YouTube sensation.
JayCut is among the most robust tools for online video creation available to students and educators. People who’ve used iMovie or Windows Movie Maker will find similarities with JayCut. For example, JayCut lets users mix multiple tracks, mash together clips, and add stunning transitions between scenes. Recently JayCut introduced an option to create voiceovers within the editor, thereby eliminating the need to record a soundtrack in a separate program.
There are two ways that schools can use Jaycut. Users can register for a free account, then create and save their files on the site. JayCut’s code is also freely available for installation on a school’s local server. The latter option requires the support of your network administrator.
If you like music videos, check out Animoto. Students simply upload a selection of still images or clips, then select or upload a soundtrack for their video. Animoto’s program handles all processing, including editing, of the video. What you get is a high-quality production that students will be proud to show. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto for Education account, which grants students free access to features that the service normally charges for.
Memoov is a free service for creating animated videos. Without downloading any software or having any special skills, users can create animated videos up to five minutes in length on Memoov. The process can be as simple as selecting a setting image(s), then a character or characters, and adding dialogue. You can customize the appearance of the characters in your video, as well as the background. To add dialogue, users can record their own voices or upload prerecorded dialogue in MP3 format.
You’ll find more free video creation tools in my free ebook, Making Videos on the Web, with instructions, including screenshots on how to use them.
Richard Byrne, a high school social studies teacher, writes the award-winning blog Free Technology for Teachers.
