An Easy to Use Tool to Create Interactive Videos for Your Class

September 25, 2015
Zaption is a web tool and mobile app that enables you to create interactive video lessons. You can use videos from YouTube or Vimeo  and add to them a wide variety of interactive features to bring life to them. Add text, images, quizzes, polls and create an ongoing discussion around video content. Similar to MoocNote and videonot.es, Zaption is also ideal for flipped classroom.

Some of the main features provided by Zaption  includes: A gallery of ready-to-use video lessons on almost any topic,; add images, text, and questions to any online video, creating interactive lessons that meet your learners’ needs; share video lessons with a simple link, or embed directly in your LMS, blog, or website; get actionable data on personal responses from learners with award-winning analytics; and instantly measure understanding and differentiate instruction.

The basic version of Zaption is free but comes with a very limited set of features, the premium version provides more advanced features. Watch the video below to learn more about Zaption.

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A New Educational Tool for Adding Notes to Videos (Ideal for Flipped Classrooms)

September , 2015
MoocNote is a new web tool ideal for flipped classrooms. Using MoocNote, you will be able  to build your own video library by importing videos from YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive. You can also use MoocNote's video plater interface to add notes to your videos. All of your notes link back to the appropriate place in the videos and are collected into one central place which you can access anytime, anywhere.

Another interesting feature provided by MoocNote is the ability to create discussions around video content by adding questions to your videos. You can attach questions to any video you import and get answers from the community. MoocNote is a bit similar to videonot.es but offers some additional features like building complete course catalogs, GoogleDrive and Dropbox support, public questions and answers, YouTube playlist import, centralised notes and so on. The site offers only free membership.

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A Simple Tool to Create Stunning Video Animations for Your Class

September 19, 2015
Biteable is a web-based tool that allows you to create beautiful explainer videos to share with your students. Explainer videos are short animated clips that make use of a wide variety of visuals and multimedia materials to communicate a message in a concise and comprehensible way. You probably have already seen some examples of Explainer videos on ads played on YouTube, several companies use this kind of videos to advertise their products.

However, as a teacher, you can create explainer videos to explain key concepts, create instructional guides and tutorials to share with students and many more. You don’t need advanced video editing skills to use Biteable. The process is simple and easy. You simply select an animation style from Biteable’s template gallery, edit the text and colours, the add photos and music. When your are done editing your video, click on ‘Email Me My Video’ and your video will be created in a matter of minutes.

Watch the video below to see Biteable in action

Another great feature of Biteable is the Infographic Video Maker which allows you to make animated infographic using Biteable video maker software. You can edit your infographic online and then download and publish it anywhere you like. Watch the video below to learn more about this feature.

Biteable is free to use. Videos created in the free version are watermarked. To remove the watermark you need to go premium.

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Here Is A New Tool for Creating Interactive Videos to Share with Students

September , 2015
Vibby is a new video platform that allows users to create interactive video learning experiences. The purpose of Vibby is to enable you to design interactive video content geared towards engaging learners and enhancing communication. Using Vibby, you will be able to highlight, share and discuss parts of any online video.  As a teacher, you can utilize this video platform to engage students through discussions held around the content of the video. Students can add their comments and exchange their thoughts about specific points in the video.

Vibby allows you to re-use existing videos to engage your learners around the video content you created or curated for them. You can also select any YouTube video and make it interactive by seamlessly highlighting the exact moments you want to draw your students attention to. Comments can be added right on the video creating synchronous interaction among students.

Want some other interesting web tools for creating interactive video content? Check out this page.

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Facebook Launched A New Tool for Making Collaborative Videos

April 1, 2015
Facebook launched today Riff, a collaborative video making tool. This app which is available for both Android and iOS allows users to create collaborative videos that can be shared on Facebook as well as on the web. The way it works is pretty simple: you start a video on Riff, when your Facebook friends see it they have the option to add clips to it. Riff puts a limit of maximum video runtime of 20 seconds.

 According to Facebook, “Anyone can start by creating a video. All you have to do is give it a topic, like #AprilFools, then your friends can view it and choose to add their own clips on that topic. Once a friend adds a clip to your video, your friend’s friends will also be shown the video in Riff and will be able to add to it. The potential pool of creative collaborators can grow exponentially from there, so a short video can become an inventive project between circles of friends that you can share to Facebook, or anywhere on the internet, at any time.”

Watch this video to see an example of a Riff video. Curtesy of TNW.

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A Handy Google Drive Tool to Create Animated Presentations and Engaging Educational Videos

February 19, 2015
In a post we published a few months ago, we talked about WeVideo and how teachers  use it to create videos and short animations in Google Drive. Today, we are introducing you to PowToon Edu, another equally powerful tool to use to create engaging videos and animated presentations.

Pontoon Edu allows you to animate difficult topics and engage your students using a wide variety of tools. You can easily drag and drop characters and props into your slides and assign it an animation, choose from different pre-designed templates and style libraries.Videos and animated presentations you create through PowToon Edu can be exported in various ways. You can share them on YouTube or Facebook, download them to your computer. You can also export them as MP4 file to embed in your classroom blog or website.

Watch the video below to learn more about PowToon Edu

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Acclaim- A Good Tool to Create Instructional Videos that Embed Comments and Annotations

January 31, 2015
Acclaim is a web platform for education which facilitates discussion around video content. It allows students and professors to share questions, notes, and feedback by inserting time-specific comments that link to moments in each video. Each comment is clickable, and once clicked, the video will jump to the specific moment that is being discussed. Students can see and respond to comments from the professor and other students at any time.

Users add videos to Acclaim in one of three different ways:

1) By embedding YouTube or Vimeo clips;
2) By uploading video files stored on a hard drive or mobile device; and
3) By using the built-in webcam feature to create and upload a video in real time.

Acclaim promotes student engagement by encouraging discussion in a responsive and asynchronous format.  Acclaim professors typically assign video content for viewing as homework, and ask students to share their thoughts and insights in the form of discussions with fellow classmates. In performance based-classes, such as dance, public speaking, and trial law, students may record themselves using the webcam feature, and receive precise feedback from professors and peers regarding specific moments of excellence, as well as points for improvement. Acclaim hones critical thinking, listening,  analytical and observational skills.

Acclaim  can also improve  class organization and student privacy. Within Acclaim, users can create secure folders based around class units and assignments, then grant access to  specific students or colleagues on a limited basis.  This built in privacy management can be reassuring to students with anxiety about their performance or concerns about public critique.

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