Loom

One of the most frustrating questions teachers hear after explaining directions at length is, “What are we supposed to do?” Enter Loom, a user-friendly screencasting tool that lets you record your screen -- anything on your screen -- and share it quickly and easily with your students. Record directions once for students so that they can watch again if they have questions. Aside from obvious flipped classroom uses, teachers can take advantage of a multitude of other possibilities: Create short how-to videos, model exemplars of anything from poetry annotation to lab safety procedures, or send quick reminders home, adding links to your videos to direct viewers to additional resources. 

Use Loom with an extension like Kami to highlight and explain important points in documents or give formative feedback about students’ writing. Pair with a site that has drawing features, and have students record themselves working out math problems. Encourage the development of critical-thinking skills by having students screencast a review of a book, video, or website. Teachers can strike a balance between giving the fish and teaching to fish by providing students or colleagues with videos about assignments, LMS features, new tech tools, or suggested policy changes. The personal touch of seeing a teacher’s face not only serves to form better connections with students, colleagues, and families, it can also save loads of time and frustration. 

There are some potential pitfalls. The ability to interact by posting comments or emojis may be a distraction, especially for students who struggle to pay attention to content. The ease with which users can share videos (via email, Slack, social media, or embed code) is convenient, but it may lead to sloppy or even inappropriate content. While there are some safety features in place, such as password protection and privacy settings, teachers should review digital citizen concepts with their students regularly to prevent negative outcomes.