10 Free Ways to Create Videos on Chromebooks

Last week I published an updated list of tools for creating videos on Chromebooks. It's time to update it again as I forgot to include Pixiclip which I featured in a post earlier this week.

Pixiclip is a free tool for creating simple instructional videos. Pixiclip provides you with a blank whiteboard on which you can draw, type, or insert images. You can record your voice as you draw or type on the screen. A variety of drawing tools is provided in Pixiclip. You can use Pixiclip without creating an account on the service. If you do create an account you can keep your videos private. Learn more about Pixiclip in my video embedded below.



My Simpleshow is a free tool for creating Common Craft style explanatory videos. The best aspect of My Simpleshow is the emphasis that the developers have placed on storyline planing and development. As is demonstrated in my tutorial below, students have to write a script on My Simpleshow before they can begin to use the video editing tools. (Disclosure: My Simpleshow is an advertiser on this blog).



Adobe Spark is a suite of free tools for creating images, videos, and simple web pages. Key features of Adobe Spark's web app include an integrated Creative Commons image search tool, the option to download images as JPEGs, and the option to download your videos as MP4 files. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to create images, web pages, and videos with Adobe Spark in your web browser.


Sharalike is a good option to consider when you want to create an audio slideshow. To create an audio slideshow on Sharalike simply import some images from your computer, your Android device or from your iPad, drag them into the sequence in which you want them to appear, and then add some music. Sharalike offers a small collection of stock music that you can use or you can upload your own music.



PowToon is a popular tool for creating animated videos online. PowToon provides a drag-and-drop editor for creating animated videos. The videos that you create feature digital paper cut-outs on a colorful background. Think of PowToon as an online tool for creating videos in the style made popular by Common Craft. PowToon provides drawings of people and objects that you can arrange on blank canvas. After adding your narration to the arrangement you can publish your video.

Magisto is a video creation tool that allows you to quickly drag videos and images from your desktop and or Google Drive account to your Magisto account. After you've uploaded the media that you want mixed, select a theme and music for your video.From the video clips and images that you upload, Magisto will select the best portions to remix and blend together. Magisto creates your video after you've completed the steps of uploading media, selecting a theme, and choosing music. The final video is emailed to you. In addition to the web-based service Magisto offers a Chrome app, an Android app, and an iPad app.


WeVideo offers the most features of any of the tools in this list. It is an online video creation tool that I have written about many times over the last few years. WeVideo offers templates that new users can follow to create their first videos. Advanced WeVideo users can skip the templates, use the full editor, and apply themes to their videos by choosing them from the themes menu in the editor. In the video editor you can upload your own media clips or use stock media clips to produce your video. WeVideo's Google Drive app allows you to save all of your video projects in your Google Drive account. WeVideo also offers an Android app and an iPhone app that students can use to capture images and video footage to add to their projects.

Nimbus Screenshot is my favorite tool for creating screencast videos on Chromebooks. It is easy to install, includes customizable countdown timer, and offers multiple ways to save and share your videos. Screencasts recorded with Nimbus Screenshot can be saved to your local drive or to an online Nimbus account. I chose to save to my local drive then upload to my YouTube channel. You could also save to your local drive then share to Google Drive or another online storage service.

Recording a video with the webcam on your Chromebook can be accomplished through the use of a free Chrome app called CaptureCast. CaptureCast, produced by Cattura Video, allows you to record the screen on your Chromebook as well as input from your webcam. To record a video with the webcam on your Chromebook open CaptureCast in your browser then allow it to access your webcam and microphone. You can specify how high of a resolution you would like to use to capture your video. You can also choose your audio quality. If you have an external microphone connected to your Chromebook, make sure that you have it enabled before you start recording. When you have finished recording in CaptureCast you can save your video on your Chromebook or upload it to YouTube, to Vimeo, or to Google Drive.

Finally, YouTube offers some good video creation and editing tools that most people overlook. One of those tools allows you to combine video clips to make one longer video. You can combine your own videos and or use video clips from YouTube's gallery of Creative Commons licensed videos. So while your students aren't limited to just their videos, they also just can't grab any old video from YouTube, like this chart-topper, to include in their projects.

You can learn more about how to use YouTube's overlooked features in YouTube, It's Not Just Cats & Khan Academy. 

New Google Classroom Features Focus on Individual Instruction

Earlier today Google added some new features to Google Classroom. The most notable of the new features is the option to give assignments to individual students or subsets of students within a class. To do this you will deselect the default sharing option of "all students" and then select the students that you want to receive the assignment. Detailed directions are available here.

Another new option in Google Classroom lets you receive notifications when students submit assignments past their due dates. And you can now receive notifications when students re-submit assignments. You can find notification set-up directions here.

The third Google Classroom update of note is for administrators. The admin console now lets administrators see Google Classroom usage in aggregate. The admin reports include how many classes and posts are being created. More information about admin console reports is available here.

Applications for Education
Besides the obvious application of using the distributing differentiated assignments, the new option to give assignments to individuals through Google Classroom could helpful in getting assignments to students who are out of school for an extended period of time.

Thanks to Mark Damon for the notice about the latest Google Classroom updates. 

Colds, the Flu, and You - Lessons on Staying Healthy

I am just getting over a cold that had me sniffling, sneezing, and coughing for about ten days. Fortunately, it was just a cold and not the flu. What's the difference between the two? How can you avoid catching either? Those questions and more are answered in the following videos.

Colds, the Flu, and You is a recent release from SciShow Kids.




How is a cold or flu passed from person to person and what exactly is it doing to your body? NPR answers those questions in the following animated video.




What is ‘flu? - Explania
If you want to use any of these videos in flipped lessons, take a look at the tools featured in my playlist of tutorials on creating flipped lessons.

TinyTap Talk or Type - Voice Response Activities

TinyTap is a service that lets you create educational games for your students to play on their iPads, Android tablets, and in their web browsers. For the most part the style of games that are created on TinyTap are identification activities in which students either choose an answer or type an answer to a question. Recently, TinyTap added the option for students to speak responses to game questions.

TinyTap's Talk or Type feature lets you create activities that your students can interact with by speaking. Learn more about this new feature by watching the video below. (The Talk or Type feature is currently available only on the iPad version of TinyTap).


Applications for Education
Talk or Type could be used to create activities in which students practice spelling or pronunciation.

Learn English With Next Vista for Learning - Or Help Others Learn

This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley, the founder of the non-profit Next Vista for Learning.

Are you trying to learn another language? It can be hard to find good videos that are available for free to help, particularly if you're trying to learn English, as businesses know there is a huge opportunity with the market of many millions of people wanting to learn the language. Large numbers of those learning English, however, don't have money to pay for access to video libraries.

On the thought that creating hundreds of short videos would be helpful to students around the world, NextVista.org is building a free collection centered on sets of vocabulary items. Here's the word "predict" from the Discussion Terms set:


For something easier, consider this video from the Days of the Week set:


Note that each video is part of a pair, with one subtitled for those needing the extra help of watching what is said.

Using the link below, you can share Next Vista's English Language Project with those teaching English as a Second Language at your school. If you and/or your students are interested in getting involved in creating sets of videos to help with this effort, use the contact link on the page to let them know.

Learn more at: http://www.nextvista.org/projects/elp/