TOP PICKS | 32 TOOLS
Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation
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Video Editing and Remixing Tools
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.
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.
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.
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.
Animaker Class
Design and present animated infographics and video with versatile site
Bottom line: A great media creation tool that could be used all year long for everything from posters to videos, but teachers will need to make learning goals clear.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kapwing
Create, tweak, and share videos and images with online editor
Bottom line: With clear learning goals and managed expectations, students and teachers will find this to be a useful and enjoyable media creation tool.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Explee
Build slick, engaging whiteboard animations with Web-based tool
Bottom line: A stellar -- if somewhat pricey -- creation tool for the classroom.
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.
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.
