TOP PICKS | 30 TOOLS
Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation
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Video Editing and Remixing Tools
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.
Coach's Eye - Video Analysis
Robust video analysis for sports, science, fine arts performances
Bottom line: Cool video-analysis tool is great for the sports field and beyond, but prepare for an onslaught of hidden costs to access all features.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Paid The app is $4.99 each when purchasing one to 19 and $2.49 each for 20 or more.
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
Recap: Video Response and Reflection for Education
Multimedia reflection app puts a new spin on class discussion
Bottom line: By promoting regular self-reflection and inquiry through Recap, teachers can support more authentic learning and self-assessment among their students.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
Hippo Video
Capture, narrate, flip, and give feedback with multimedia screencasts
Bottom line: This is a terrific option that supports flipped classrooms, video feedback, student presentations, and formative assessment.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid In addition to the free version, there's a $39 per year Personal plan, a $79 per year Classroom plan, and a $6 per student per year School plan.
Loom
Create, present, and assess with free, effortless screencasting
Bottom line: This intuitive tool is excellent for recording and responding to screencasts of any length.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
Screencastify
Easy screen-recording tool facilitates outside-the-box instruction
Bottom line: If you have access to Chrome, Screencastify is an easy instructional tool that lets teachers and students communicate in new and creative ways.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Free version offers up to 50 watermarked videos per month and a maximum length of 10 minutes per video; premium version ($24 per year) removes the watermark and unlocks more features, including trimming and exporting capabilities. Bulk pricing is available for groups of teachers and districts.
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.
WeVideo
Solid editing site makes video creation simple and social
Bottom line: With three levels of tools and an easy-to-use interface, kids should have no trouble creating content here.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Premium personal accounts are $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr, Education accounts (up to 30 users) are $199.99/yr. A free trial is available for teachers.
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
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).
Adobe Premiere Clip
Decent on-the-go video editor shines when using other Adobe tools
Bottom line: It's a good tool that gets better when using other Creative Cloud apps, but the limited features make this a hard sell for anything other than introductory editing.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free Additional Adobe Creative Cloud storage available for a fee.
Flipgrid
Pose questions, spark thoughtful video responses with stellar tool
Bottom line: A simple way for students and teachers to create online discussion, as long as your classroom culture is mature enough to use it wisely.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
Adobe Spark
Super-flexible design tool for crafting fab images, videos, and sites
Bottom line: This free, one-stop shop for creating sleek graphics, web stories, and animated videos is incredibly easy to use and challenges students to think critically about visual presentation.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
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
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
TouchCast Studio
Cool tool takes videos to next level, but some privacy concerns
Bottom line: TouchCast is a creative tool for students to use to present information, but teachers should monitor use.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free, Paid The app is free. An enterprise paid version offers privacy and live streaming.
Animation and Slideshow Tools
Easy Studio Stop-Motion Studio
Ideal, easy-to-use way to help kids learn basic animation
Bottom line: This introduction to digital animation offers lots of opportunities for creativity for young students.
Grades: K–2
Price: $3.99
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
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
LEGO® Movie Maker
Stop-motion animation app has limited features, may inspire creativity
Bottom line: Despite its limitations, a robust, easy-to-use tool for creating stop-motion animation.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
Animation & Drawing by Do Ink
One-stop animation tool for beginners through experts
Bottom line: Accessible entry into animation for beginning students, but with enough depth to satisfy more advanced artists.
Grades: 3–8
Price: $4.99
Animatic
Ultra-simple starting point for animation has its uses
Bottom line: This animation app can be a great starting point for learning the essentials of animation (sequencing frames of drawings), but ultimately it has a small feature set compared to others.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid There's a free version or a paid Pro version, which is $9.99 per year ($2.99 for three months or $4.99 for six months) and adds additional features like on-screen duration for individual frames and exporting to Adobe Creative Cloud.
Explain Everything
Powerhouse tool for creating stellar multimedia presentations
Bottom line: Teachers and students can make dynamic presentations that involve different types of media in this innovative, fun app.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free to try, Paid There's a 30-day free trial. The Education Plan is $4.99 per user, per year (minimum of 5 users). Individual plans are $24.99 per year.
Plotagon Education
Create animated movies with customized characters and actions
Bottom line: A fun way to show understanding of any subject matter, especially for those who enjoy making movies.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free to try, Paid Plotagon Story (for individual users) is free with in-app purchases. There's a free trial of Plotagon Education, and then pricing ranges from one user ($39 per year) to 1,000 users ($2,990 per year) with multiple options in between.
GoAnimate for Schools
Make professional-looking animations with easy-to-use tool
Bottom line: This highly engaging animation tool is a fun way for students to experiment with storytelling and digital creation.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free to try Subscriptions start at $79 per year for just a teacher account. For teacher and student accounts, plans vary (e.g., it's $124 per year for one teacher and 30 students).
Explee
Build slick, engaging whiteboard animations with Web-based tool
Bottom line: A stellar -- if somewhat pricey -- creation tool for the classroom.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid A teacher account costs $30 per year, while $150 a year buys access for a teacher and up to 40 students.
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).
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.
