The shift from conventional classrooms to online classrooms was sudden but smooth. Teachers have been resourceful and quick to adapt.
An online classroom has been a life-saver during the pandemic. It has not only made classrooms accessible to every student, but has also ensured continuity in education.
The process of transforming traditional classrooms into smart classrooms with the help of technology was started in many schools even before the pandemic. Nowadays, teachers use various technology-enabled modes of instruction to make learning effective and interesting. Videos are crucial in this respect.
Videos are a great source of learning. Complex concepts can be easily understood using videos and these help students learn at their own pace and time. With the help of technology, many video creation tools have been developed. These tools are easy to use and help teachers ensure a real-time classroom experience for students.
Videos enable teachers to make educational content, undertake online interactive sessions and one-on-one mentoring sessions, and also attend parent-teacher meetings.
There are several tools available for classroom video creation today. Here is a list of five of the best tools which can be used. Please keep in mind to choose an online teaching app like Teachmint, that helps you record your live classes, automate attendance, live stream your classes on YouTube and the like. This will help you save time and effort.
Renderforest:
It is a popular video and animation creation tool. It has cloud storage which relieves us from the task of uploading videos. It provides users with around 300 free video templates falling under various categories like animation, 3-D explainer, and many more. Thus, the default templates can be used if you have to create videos in a short time span. The simplicity of operation is its main strength. You just have to select a template, edit it according to your needs and download it. Its major characteristics are data storage, screen sharing, and one-click download.
Renderforest is used by teachers mainly to create explainer videos, slideshows, or infographics. It provides many unique icons and character animations. It is quite simple to use with no technical expertise required. It is as easy as Microsoft Word and often comes in handy for school teachers who are not very technologically proficient.
Animoto
It is used to create high-quality slideshows in a short time period. It is similar to Renderforest as it also consists of ready-made video templates. Moreover, it also has various copyrighted images and music clips that can be added to your videos. Thus, it can create interesting and unique videos.
Animoto is highly suitable for teaching students as it contains an interactive whiteboard for virtually delivering lectures. This tool is also used by teachers to create advertisements for school fundraising events, social media posts, school newsletters, and important announcements. Students can also use the tool for projects like photo essays, e-reports, etc. But, an official school email id is required to avail of this tool.
The key features of this tool are high-definition videos of 1080p, a vast font library, and a color customization option. The only drawback is that if you want to share or download the videos you have created, you need to purchase an upgraded version which is costly.
Hippo Video
This tool is a package deal. It is a one-stop solution for the complete life cycle of a video. The video can be created, edited, hosted, shared, and even tracked using this tool. A video can be recorded by a webcam, audio option, or screen recorder. You can even import videos from elsewhere and edit them using Hippo Video.
Powtoon
It is an easy and simple tool to make animated videos and presentations. It has built-in templates which can be used directly to make presentations. The templates can also be customized with your own images or music.
Students find animated presentations very engaging and like to learn from them. But only the basic version of Powtoon comes free of cost and in order to avail of all its templates and features, you need to purchase the tool.
Conclusion
Digitization has led to an exponential rise in the number of online teaching platforms. The current situation is ripe for such apps to grow further since many students prefer online classes these days. The pandemic has ensured a tremendous impetus to the growth. Online education is the new reality. It is here to stay.
Teachmint is keen on changing the future of education with its advanced LMS and ERP tools. With more than 20+ modules for educational institutions like admission management, attendance management system, performance management, and more; it is changing the teaching-learning experience.
