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TOP PICKS | 24 TOOLS
Best Interactive Video Apps and Websites
Top Picks
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Video Annotation and Remix
PlayPosit
Simple design makes it easy to jump into interactive video
Bottom line: With features that are both basic and useful, it's an easy tool to learn; adding interactivity to video is a snap.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free, Paid Basic accounts are free. Optional premium features are $96/year and include the ability to copy and edit other teachers' content, the ability to crop video, more question types, student-created content, printable worksheets, grade exporting, and advanced student data.
Edpuzzle
Crop, customize, and remix online video content with interactive tool
Bottom line: As a flipped classroom or student creation tool, there are lots of opportunities for use, but teachers will need to be creative if they want students to engage.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid The basic version is free. The Pro Teacher plan is in development but is slated to cost $6.50 per month. The Pro School plan starts at $55 per month (call for quote).
Spiral
Provide instant feedback with collaborative, multimedia assessment tool
Bottom line: Engaging, easy-to-use tool that supports both formative and summative assessment while allowing for student collaboration.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Spiral Teacher is free and covers up to five classrooms. The Pro Teacher subscription is $39 per teacher per year and offers unlimited classrooms, student accounts for home use, and progress reports. The Pro School subscription is estimated at $3 per student and offers Pro Teacher features plus additional ones, including full integration with the school's LMS.
Comment Bubble
Customizable video-response tool allows easy, if limited, student feedback
Bottom line: A simple, easy way to add student-friendly assessments to online videos, including quick, customizable responses (e.g., "I get it") or short comments.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Vialogues
Targeted discussions can help make video content more interactive
Bottom line: This time-based video discussion tool increases interaction for traditional, flipped, or blended classrooms, but might offer more in the way of built-in instruction and assessment features.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
MediaBreaker/Studios
Free video-remix tool boosts media literacy, presents some challenges
Bottom line: It's not without its challenges for teachers, but at its core MediaBreaker is an easy-to-use and free tool for teaching critical media-making and literacy.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free
Tools for Video Creation
Toontastic 3D
Flexible tool hands kids the reins for creative animated storytelling
Bottom line: Despite some lack of variety and simple drawing tools, Toontastic 3D remains a terrific, versatile storytelling tool.
Grades: K–5
Price: Free
Screencast-O-Matic
Create and share high-quality screencasts without breaking the bank
Bottom line: A well-designed screen and video recorder that lets teachers and students focus on creating engaging content from the get-go.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Free accounts include recording, trimming, captioning, saving, and sharing features as well as three music tracks and 2GB bandwidth per month on the site. Deluxe and Premier plans cost $1.50 and $4 per month, respectively, and include additional recording and publishing features, video editing tools, and more.
WeVideo
Solid cloud-based editing site makes video creation simple and social
Bottom line: With two levels of editing tools and an easy-to-use interface, students of all ages should have no trouble creating and editing their video content to demonstrate learning.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Premium personal accounts range from $4.99 to $17.99 per month with a limited free account also available. Education accounts (up to 30 users) are $299 per year and can be scaled for any school system. A free trial is available for teachers.
VoiceThread
Easily collaborate and create with voice, video, or image
Bottom line: A powerful tool for kids to create, collaborate, and share all kinds of multimedia.
Grades: K–12
Price: Paid A single educator account runs $15 per month or $79 per year for one teacher and up to 50 students. A school account starts at $450 per year, depending on the number of users and desired services; district packages are also available.
ToonCamera
Photo- and video-editing tool captures the world with a cartoon lens
Bottom line: Engaging tool may require a focused prompt to get kids thinking about how to use the available options.
Grades: 1–12
Price: $1.99
Shadow Puppet Edu
Resource-rich video slideshow maker a gem for a variety of classrooms
Bottom line: Easy-to-use free tool is a must-have for elementary classrooms; just keep an eye on sharing and privacy.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
Green Screen by Do Ink
Versatile, easy-to-use moviemaker yields great results
Bottom line: High-quality movie maker has numerous uses for students projects.
Grades: 3–8
Price: $2.99
Stop Motion Studio
Simple, straightforward approach to quickly creating basic animation
Bottom line: Simple tools and helpful tips allow kids to quickly start creating stop-motion videos.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
Binumi
One-stop shop for creating and assigning beautiful video stories
Bottom line: Set students up for storytelling success with quality content and tools in a safe environment.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Paid $1 to $2 per user per month, depending on the feature set; district volume pricing available.
iMovie
Movie editor will satisfy beginner and intermediate creators
Bottom line: Despite some limitations with editing, it’s the perfect tool to get teachers and students started with digital video production.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Videolicious
Basic video-slideshow creator introduces kids to digital-design concepts, techniques
Bottom line: Offers an engaging way for kids to enhance their work with photo and video elements.
Grades: 6–8
Price: Free
Film It
A well-rounded, entertaining, hands-on intro to filmmaking
Bottom line: Chock-full of useful advice and hands-on activities that give students a realistic (and really fun!) overview of the movie-making process.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Animoto
Create snazzy video slideshows with simple, flexible features
Bottom line: Slick music videos and slideshows are easy to make, but students need more controls to personalize them.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free, Free to try, Paid 14-day free trial. Special free teacher subscriptions available; three pricing tiers for consumers ($8 to $39 per month).
Clips
Create and share videos with cool effects, tons of language options
Bottom line: This slick video creation app is fun, empowering, and accessible in lots of languages, but be careful with sharing.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free
TouchCast Studio
Cool tool takes videos to the next level
Bottom line: It's a creative tool for teachers to make interactive video content and for students to present information, but teachers should monitor use.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free The app is free for those in the public school system.
Vidcode
Cool coding tool tuned to teen girls' passions aids creativity
Bottom line: Learn-to-code programs for youths often too narrowly define what can be done with code; Vidcode expands the options, helping girls see code's value in culture and express themselves.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free, Paid Free introductory projects; contact for pricing for intermediate and advanced projects/lessons as well as training and support resources.
