Great for Online Teaching/Learning

I have not used Loom for very long but so far this is the best tool I have found to make a video quickly and easily. I used Camtasia for a long time but I did not make very many videos because it was difficult to use. And to make it worse, Camtasia would encourage me to make spend more time adding music, titles, it other professional quality items. Camtasia produced wonderful videos but there was a huge cost in time. I started using VidGrid (paid product) a few years ago. It was drop dead simple and made very nice "primative" videos quickly. My productivity improved greatly with VidGrid while the quality dropped slightly in ways that did not matter to my students. My school recently moved away from VidGrid and went to YuJa. YuJa has many features I do not need or want, was difficult to use, and crashed over half the time. It is not worth the frustration and my students were not happy about the loss of quick response. I recently found Loom and it is a great fit for my purposes. The videos are even easier to make than with VidGrid, though admittedly it could not get much easier. Best of all for my use case, when a student or students is struggling on something simple like using a VLOOKUP formula I can quickly make a video addressing the concept they are struggling with and post it to the class discussion board. My students are happy to got what they need, when they need it, in a format suitable for the purpose. The lack of features is a feature for those of use who are obsessive compulsive. I use to struggle releasing a video because it was never good enough. Knowing I can't edit a lot and that students value speed is very liberating. The quality is almost as good at a minimum and frequently just as good for the video and the audio. (Neither is as good as Camtasia) Pros Good audio and video quality Incredibly simple. Can record from the browser (720P I believe. Desktop is higher resolution.) Can play video at an accelerated speed Cons Surprisingly, it does not allow the video to be played at a slower speed. You could download the video and post to YouTube or play on a media player that supports that but that slows down your response time. This is not something that is normally needed but occasionally it is nice to have. The transcript is ok but not as accurate as other products I have used. But it is not bad. I am thrilled that it included free transcription and the quality is not bad so that is not a major deal for me. Conclusion Loom is probably not a good fit for your needs if you are making high quality lengthy videos that are designed to be used for multiple semesters. The increase in fidelity you could get from other products and the additional time are an investment in the future. If you need something that is free and incredibly simple to use to produce very good quality videos quickly, Loom is excellent. Loom also allows for a more interactive experience since responses can be made so quickly. The negative reviews I have read about Loom are accurate from the viewpoint of focusing on best quality video. But for good quality video done really quickly Loom is the best I have found.

Loom is an absolute lifesaver for any teacher creating content for virtual teaching or flipped classroom. With no-frills setup requirements, works on any platform: chrome OS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, as you can use it as a browser extension and saves your creations directly to the cloud where it is easy to share. Loom also allows you to download your videos for further editing or sharing in specific platforms that require you to upload the video file.

My favorite aspect of Loom is that it publishes to the web and can be immediately shared using a linked or a linked gif. Before publishing, you can also trim the video to cleanup any hiccups at the beginning (much faster than having to stop and restart your recording). Upon the first view of your video, you receive a notification - useful to confirm that student really did hear your tutorial regarding a last minute homework question. Your videos are conveniently organized on the website (similar to YouTube) and can be accessed again at a later date. When I am reluctant to answer a student question because of the long explanation required, I remind myself to make a video as that is typically much faster and more effective via Loom. Dislikes: 1. Last year, I tried using the download version and it affected the operability of my keyboard. I uninstalled it and have had no problems since with the internet-based version. I also haven't felt a need to record without internet, so no real loss. 2. The View count doesn't always seem accurate. 3. Recording my full desktop or an app other than Chrome can be done, but takes a couple extra steps. If I am only recording outside of Chrome (which is rare for me), I might pick another screencast option. Even with the hassle, I usually still opt for Loom because I don't have to upload the video or remember where I stored it.