Educreations aims to offer an easy way to create videos with the use of an iPad by recording what's on the iPad screen and overlaying audio.
The idea here is to create slide-based videos that teachers can use in class. A sort of "Here's one I made earlier" idea. As a result, it can be used in the class as well as for remote and online learning.
Sharing becomes very easy using this platform, allowing content to be created for students, other teachers, and even other schools. By building your own content library, you can keep re-using videos each year, cutting down your workload as you progress.
Here is everything you need to know about Educreations.
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What is Educreations?
Educreations is an iPad app, so you will need an Apple iPad to make use of this system. Got one? Alright, then you're ready to record your voice over while sharing anything you can get on an iPad screen.
From talking about photos and videos to doing a voiceover as you work with a 3D model or anything else you can fit into a slide, this platform lets you record as a video to share that iPad experience with the class, or each student, as if you were going over it one-on-one together.
This is also useful for capturing ideas, as you work through projects on the screen. You could even narrate a student's work as a way of returning useful feedback. Or perhaps going over a plan and sharing that with other staff members.
Thanks to a private classroom environment, sharing content is safe and secure. And as everything can be stored in the cloud, it's easy to manage and share.
How does Educreations work?
To get started using Educreations you simply need to download the app on your iPad via the website or directly using the App Store. It is free to download and once you sign-up for an account you can get started right away.
You are going to end up with a video but the creation process is more like a slides-based platform. That means you can start with a blank slate and add in images, videos, charts, documents, and more. You are then able to narrate over the top to provide an audio track to the visuals.
This is quite a lightweight tool, so it's not as in-depth as some of the competition out there. But that can work in its favor as this is very easy to use. That means it's a good fit for teachers and students.
Once a project is created it will be saved in the cloud. It can then be easily shared using a link, with direct sharing to the likes of YouTube, Twitter, and more.
What are the best Educreations features?
Educreations is so easy to use that you can create teaching and class videos in no time. It can also be useful as a quick way for students to submit projects or even comment on one another's work. You can also provide feedback for turned-in work in the form of video-based reviews.
As mentioned, this can be a great way to build lesson resources as you make more and more videos. But since there is also a community, you'll have access to the creations of other teachers and students, which can be useful and save time.
The ability to annotate, with finger writing or using a stylus, is a great way to work through content in a video as if you were doing it on a whiteboard, live.
The ability to pause recording is helpful when narrating, and basic editing in this way lessens the pressure to get it all right in one take. In fact, when you add media to a presentation, audio recording helpfully pauses automatically.
How much does Educreations cost?
Educreations has free and paid account options.
The Free account gets you recording and sharing with basic whiteboard tools, the ability to create and join classes, saving of one draft at a time, and 50MB storage.
The Pro Classroom option, at $99 per year, gets you 40+ students, all the above plus exporting videos, advanced whiteboard tools, importing docs and maps, saving unlimited drafts, 5GB of storage, and priority email support.
The Pro School plan, at $1,495 per year, offers unlimited upgrades and works school-wide. You get all the above with Pro features for all teachers plus teacher and student management, school-wide feature configuration, centralized billing, unlimited storage, and a dedicated support specialist.
Educreations best tips and tricks
Present in class
Have students create a presentation on the app so that they can play it in class, giving them the presentation experience but with less pressure.
Feedback on work
Upload student work into a project then narrate and annotate feedback so they have the feel of a real one-on-one session, even outside the classroom.
Tackle science
Take the class through a science experiment as if live. Have students show their working in a similar way when solving problems and submitting results.
