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ChromebooksGoogle Tips and Tricks

Google Photos’ New Video Editor

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Summer is the time to share new information. In late July, Google announced some major updates to Google Photos. If you use Google Photos for archiving photos on your device, you will want to know about these.

Adding a Movie Editor

One of the most received questions from secondary journalism teachers? “How can I put photo albums online for easy viewing?” My answer was to use Google Photos with your Google Workspace for Education account. This made it easy to capture images, then share photo albums with select pics. I relied on this approach for board meetings, special events, and more. One thing I didn’t do, though, was create movies. Google Photos lacked the functionality.

Coming this fall, Google enables Chromebook users to have a movie editor with video editing features. This has been a long-awaited feature, hasn’t it?

google photos

Google Photos’ Movie Editor Features

Assembling a movie from scratch is important. It gives you a lot of control over the content. But you can also create movies from theme, relying on Google’s AI to select clips of video. This is a big help, since you are relying on Google’s Search to assist you.

google photos

The new movie editor sports some in-demand features, such as:

  • Clipping the video using a drag-n-drop
  • Enhance brightness
  • Augment contrast
  • Identify highlights
  • Deepen or reduce shadows
  • Add soundtrack

These are standard features with many video editors, but you often have to pay for those. Let’s see what else the Google Photos movie editor can do.

google photos

Source for Images in this blog post: Google’s Blog

Combine Different Elements

With this new tool, you will be able to combine a variety of media. This media includes content such as:

  • Photos
  • Music
  • Video clips

What’s more, you will be able to insert title cards and music. There’s even more to explore, though.

LumaFusion MultiTrack Video Editor

Work with audio or video, and you will find yourself longing for a way to have more than one track of content. This allows you to add music that plays while images and video are flowing on the primary track. Google promises to integrate LumaFusion into Google Photos.

google photos

The LumaFusion app brings professional video editing and effects to the table. This app will be available on Chromebooks, as well as Android. The original creators of another of my favorite apps, Pinnacle Studio, created LumaFusion. The Pinnacle Studio app still has a home on my iOS device as Pinnacle Pro.

The Future Is Fluid and Exciting

Anyone who has had to create and edit movies on the go knows the tough obstacles. Google Photos’ Movie Editor, with LumaFusion inclusion, in the future is exciting!

Image Sources

All images in this blog post come from Google’s blog.

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clipchamp
Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Clipchamp Video Editor Joins Microsoft 365

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

In a bit of an understated announcement, Microsoft and Clipchamp joined forces in September 2021. Not familiar with Clipchamp? It’s a web-based, video editing tool that integrates into tools you already use. If you have explored RecordCast, one of my favorite free browser-based editors, Clipchamp brings great features to the table. In this blog entry, you’ll get a short introduction to a tool that may soon find itself in your hands if you are a Microsoft 365 user.

clipchamp

Meet Clipchamp

What makes this tool so interesting is that it offers full video editing for free. Available online as a web app, you can also add it as a desktop app.

clipchamp

Since it relies on templates for video, this makes adding your own media and editing easier.

Clipchamp is free to use with your own media files and when you export finished videos at 480p. It also offers many paid features. Those include higher resolution exports, branding and collaboration options. As of 4/4/2022, you now have the ability, as a free user, to export videos at 720p and 1080p. If you use our premium audio, video or image stock, your exported video will include a watermark – otherwise, it’ll be watermark-free.

Of course, you may need to have a Microsoft 365 subscription:

Clipchamp extends the cloud-powered productivity experiences in Microsoft 365. Clipchamp and Microsoft will help you express yourself. Source: Microsoft acquires Clipchamp to empower creators

On its own, Clipchamp can be expensive. Microsoft 365 now offers it for free.

clipchamp

An Quick Overview

Boasting a wealth of amazing features, this resource makes editing so easy with its templates.

clipchamp

For example, I took a few screenshots and combined them into an animated GIF video. Then I imported them into the editor. You can pull content in from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Zoom, Box, and Google Photos. You can also record your camera or screen.

clipchamp

You can record your own videos, then drop them into Clipchamp’s editor. It is fast and easy, and results in a product that looks fantastic, although the free version is at 480p compared to 720p or 1080p available to premium users.

clipchamp

You can swap video, images, and music out with your own, as well as replace the text.

A Sample Video

Here’s a quick, terrible video I put together in about five minutes with Clipchamp:

It’s not too soon to start exploring the possibilities with Clipchamp. Give it a try!

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Microsoft Tips and TricksSTEM/STEAM

Video Editing Tools for Remote Teachers

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Educators have begun screen recording and screencasting with a serious need. Preparing content for instructional purposes can drive one to distraction. When I assembled the Screencasting for Educators course, I decided on no-cost tools, video editing tools that got the job done without all the expense. May I share what I found with you?

Update 6/7/2022: Have a Google Chromebook? Then you will definitely want to explore the new Google Screencast tool that comes with Google Chromebooks.

Five Amazing Video Editing Tools

Need video editing tools available for free? If you are on Windows 10, it can be challenging. Some entry-level solutions provide you with simple video assembly tools. That is, the ability to trim, split, and join video.

Here are my top five tools that make video editing easy at no cost to you.

Tool #1: Google’s Screencast

Did you miss the announcement in June, 2022? If you did, you’re not alone. While there is an abundance of recording and editing tools for video, few of them work on the Chromebook for free. In this blog entry, I feature two you can start with, including the amazing Screencast from Google. Not only does it give you screencasting, automatic transcription of everything said in the recording, it allows easy marking of the screen. You can quickly draw or make annotations.

Visual Walkthrough

Here’s a quick view of what you’ll see when you get into Google’s new Screencast tool for Chromebook:

Notice Screencast comes with easy-to-use video tutorials

When you first start out with Screencast, you’ll be able to edit your settings for that specific recording, as well as record the whole screen or only a portion:

What’s more, you can also use the built-in annotation tool, or “Marker,” to make notes on your screencast as you make it:

This makes the tool quite friendly and easy to use. Simply two-finger tap (or click) on the touchpad to activate the color choices for the Marker. You may also notice the red circle with red square in the middle. This is how you STOP recording. Once you are done recording, you can get a transcript. The Transcript tool is also what you use to adjust the contents of the video:

Excise portions of screencast with the Transcript->Skip section tool.

Want to know more? Here’s some more information on the tool:

  • Screencast: Screencast without having to add an extension to your Chrome browser. Look no further than this newest addition.
    • Anyone with a Chromebook can create and select part of the recordings to skip (via the transcription editor)
    • All recordings are automatically transcribed.
    • Make sure you update to Chrome OS M103 before jumping in.
  • Cast Moderator: This tool makes it easy to wirelessly present your Chromebook screen. Cast Moderator enables teachers to:

Watch this video for a walkthrough:

Tool #2: RecordCast.com

There are plenty of desktop, browser-based video recorders available to us today. So why would you need one more? What if, instead of a video recorder, you also had a browser-based video editor? And what if I told you it’s easy to add images and audio to it and overlay text on that video? Most people would say, “That’s WeVideo or Screencastify.” But those solutions come with a price.

RecordCast.com offers a free, browser-based solution you can use.

RecordCast brings the functionality of Screencastify and Loom Pro. No browser add-ons or downloads are required. That’s right, RecordCast works its magic without a special browser add-on or extension. That, and its “FREE” label make it an amazing find. But that’s not all.

RecordCast enjoys a thirty-minute time limit for recordings. RecordCast brings the functionality of Screencastify and Loom Pro. No browser add-ons or downloads are required. That’s right, RecordCast works its magic without a special browser add-on or extension. That, and its “FREE” label make it an amazing find. But that’s not all. RecordCast enjoys a thirty-minute time limit for recordings. This makes it a perfect tool for instructional screencasts. It combines the ease of use with two important factors: a timeline that allows you to add audio tracks and overlay text. You can also record your screen, screen plus webcam, or webcam only. Be aware that, in order to use the program, you will need to create an account, as well as verify your email. You will also be limited to seven projects at a time.

recordcast

Watch this short video overview of RecordCast and read this blog entry that goes into more depth:

Tool #3: Shotcut

Although open source video editors abound, Shotcut makes video editing easy. In fact, I’ve coached my colleague Peggy Reimers on using Shotcut. Her computer of choice is a Mac and the experience has been uniform for both of us, even though I’m on Windows 10. Shotcut’s ease of use allows me to combine various elements, such as images, music clips, and video. It’s an easy matter to add tracks for each, then export the assembled creation as MP4 video. It has a wealth of online tutorials.

Here’s a quick video overview of Shotcut:

Tool #4: MiniTool MovieMaker Free

When Microsoft cut Moviemaker, I mourned with the rest of the world. For a while, I thought that the enhanced Photos app on Microsoft Windows 10 would get the job done. It did not. As a result, I found myself searching for an alternative.

While Shotcut was the first tool I found that worked well, I recently stumbled on a new one. That video editing tool is MiniTool MovieMaker Free. The interface is a welcome break from Shotcut’s busy one, as you can see below. That simplicity comes with a few sacrifices, as I’ll point out in the video walkthrough:

MiniTool MovieMaker Free, as you will see, has a lot to offer. Some of its features include:

  • Creating and editing videos in Windows
  • Smart movie templates
  • Ability to add text and transitions
  • Free (no cost) and no watermarks

In fact, some of its own advertising sells it as an iMovie-style editor. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the interface is simple and powerful for video editing newbies like me.

Here’s a quick video overview of MiniToo MovieMaker Free:

I have to admit that I found it a bit poky and slow on the uptake compared to Shotcut. One additional solution may be worth your time.

Tool #5: OpenShot Video Editor

Looking for an easy to use video editor that won’t cost you a dime? Give Openshot video editor a check. While it’s a bit less feature heavy than Shotcut, it will do the most important things. Watch this short video overview:

After playing with all five tools, on a Windows machine, I’m going to stick with the free, open source Shotcut. It makes it possible to achieve quick editing. If I need fancier features, I will have to learn them or maybe use OpenShot. OpenShot provides a nice entry point given its easy to use multi-track support, slicing and export features.

For Chromebook users, using Google’s built-in Screencast with automatic annotation and marking is a winner. Use RecordCast.com as a quick video editor, an inexpensive alternative to the more costly WeVideo.

Splitting and Joining Videos

Have a long video and need to split it into pieces? Or maybe you have multiple videos that you need to join together? Consider using one of these tools to get the job done. They are available at no cost and will make working with a large video (or a lot of small ones) easier.

Optimal video size is anywhere between six and eight minutes long. Trying to split video into small chunks can be time-consuming. Allow me to share an example.

For example, the 15 videos in this playlist were once joined together. That huge video file was about 1.2 gigabytes in size. Eighteen seconds after putting them into a video splitting tool, I had them ready to upload (put) into YouTube as a playlist.

Free video trimmer
FlexClip’s Free Video Trimmer

There are many solutions available to get the job done. Three that you can explore include:

Here’s a quick video overview of MP4Tools (edited with NCH’s VideoPad):

My pick for the best free video editing software? RecordCast for short videos (under 30 minutes), Shotcut for longer videos or videos that require cropping and other special filters. You can’t go wrong with its powerhouse features and, if you give yourself a little time, you’ll soon be a pro at using it for simple video edits. Not quite ready to jump into the deep-end? Try OpenShot Video Editor.

Finally, be sure to read my blog entry on Five Free Video Converters. They will make your life easier when shrinking videos or prepping them for viewing on specific devices.

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podcasting
Good TeachingGoogle Tips and Tricks

Video Sharing in Google Classroom and Seesaw

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Need to share videos into Google Classroom or Seesaw? You’re not the only teacher who needs to put a quick tutorial video together for students. Here are some strategies that other educators recommend around the topics of video storage, sharing and creation tools and tips, as well as how to share videos in Seesaw and Google Classroom.

Storing Videos in the Cloud

With both Google Classroom and Seesaw, you can share links to existing videos. This means that you can make a video using any tool you want and then post it anywhere. That anywhere can be YouTube, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or wherever. One thing you need to be careful with is ensuring that the video is viewable by anyone with a link. This is an option when you put the video in a cloud storage space.

Did you know you might have almost unlimited storage in the cloud? Both G Suite EDU and Microsoft OneDrive offer unlimited (or almost) storage.

share video

A New Player? Loom Pro for Free

“Looms is my choice as a best option,” says TCEA board member, John Bimmerle. He goes on to point out that it is “super quick.” Loom Pro, which has gone free for teachers, is also open to students at K-16 education institutions. Loom Pro comes with a desktop version and Chrome extension.  Learn more about their COVID-19 Loom Pro free offer via their announcement. My experience? It lagged a bit in rendering the video on their website. After 10 minutes, I uninstalled Loom and opted for another tool. Let’s hope they improve and/or demand eases up.

Wait, Wait, There’s ONE MORE Newcomer!

Flipgrid announced on April 1, 2020 that they are adding screen recording to their amazing product. It’s a free, no-cost offering. Watch their announcement video via this Tweet (or see the unauthorized MP4 video I made of it):

The possibilities with Flipgrid screenrecording option are endless. You can now organize your screencasts, such as of your desktop and apps, into grids and allow others to contribute. What’s more, you can export those screencasts as MP4 video files to place on YouTube. What’s amazing is how easy it is to screen recording using Flipgrid. And, all of this is FREE and available at no cost to educators. It also allows you to start and stop video recording, which is an amazing feature.

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Video Creation Tools

If you’re still looking for a good tool for video sharing, here’s a quick run down of other digital tools you can use to creating teaching videos.

  1. Screencast-o-Matic. Screencast-O-Matic is a fantastic tool that will let you record from their site. You can record up to 15 minutes, and it allows for webcam picture recording. Save your videos in .mp4, .flv, or .avi video format or you can upload them straight to YouTube.
  2. Screencastify. Screencastify is a Chrome extension that allows you to record, edit, annotate, store, and share video screen captures. Record a specific tab, or your whole desktop, at the click of a button. The free Lite version normally limits recording time to five minutes per video and has a watermark. Due to COVID-19, as of this writing, you can get premium version for free for 60 days. You may also want to look at some of their free e-learning resources. They are also announcing a new feature for students to use Screencastify. Find out more at Screencastify Submit. Watch a video intro.
  3. Nimbus Screencapture/Screen recording. Nimbus is a Chrome extension for capturing web pages, either part of one or the whole browser window. You can also edit your screenshots and screen record your desktop or a particular tab.
  4. Zoom. Available at no charge and in wide usage as a result of COVID-19, many people don’t know they can use it to record and share their screens. Using Zoom Basic, you can record webinars that feature picture in picture, play music as you share your screen, and save a video recording to your computer. Many videos you will create will be no more than five to 30 minutes, which fall into the free version of Zoom time limits. Of course, those time limits have been waived for educators during COVID-19.

Popular Screencasting Tools

Those are some of my favorite browser-based screen recording tools. There are also free screen recording tools that you can install on Windows. Of course, Mac users can rely on QuickTime, which offers free recordings. If you need to edit videos, Shotcut is a great editor for Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux computers.

A Personal Recommendation

People often ask, “What do you use?” Until lately, I have relied on Screencastify. With its $29 price tag  for one year, it’s worth the investment. While I still use Screencastify when on a Chromebook, on Windows 10 and Mac I recommend another tool, Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). I can’t tell you how amazed I was at the flexibility, versatility, and speed of this free (and no-cost), open source tool. Gamers (e.g. esports) use OBS to stream their game-play to various streaming services (e.g. Facebook LIVE, Twitch, Periscope). You can use it to record your content, too.

Look hard? It’s not as bad as you think. Here’s what OBS looks like when I’m using it to record videos for TCEA Remote Learning.

Highlight Tool: Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)

Instead of recording your desktop, OBS allows you to record anything your computer does (see sidebar image for a list). While not for the faint of heart, OBS continues to get easier to use every day. If you have to record video, it makes switching between different scenes and input sources (e.g. audio, video, webcam, browsers, and apps) easy.

Intended as a streaming solution, you can use it to record and save video to MKV or MP4 format. I am truly astonished how fast it is once set up. However, the setup can be confusing, and so I encourage you to read my upcoming guide on recording videos with OBS. In the meantime, be sure to read the the OBS Studio Quickstart guide.

Even More Video Sharing Tools

Looking for other powerful tools to use? Here are a few.

  1. Flipgrid.com – Flipgrid is a free, fun, and easy way to have a video chat. It is a great tool to get student feedback while incorporating student voice. There is an iOS and Android app.
  2. VideoNot.es. Have students use this Google Drive app with their Google account. That will allow them to take notes while they watch a video that you assign. Notes work as video markers. Click the notes, and you leapfrog to the matching spot in the video.
  3. Vialogues. Vialogues allows you to create conversations that revolve around a video.
  4. EdPuzzle. This is the premier tool for adding content to an existing video. It makes it easy to use what you need from any video. You can insert audio notes or record over a video with your voice. You can even add questions at any point in the video and track your students’ understanding.
  5. Educannon (Playposit). This is a great way to annotate existing YouTube videos for students to watch at home.

share video

Some Quick Tips for Video Recordings

Here are some quick tips for video recording you may want to keep in mind:

1) Storyboard your content first, then create a video about your lesson. All the tools are free to get started.

2) Keep videos short, two to three minutes or five to 10 minutes max (shorter is better). You can always create more videos. Think “bite-sized chunks” that students can nibble on their way to/from school, sitting somewhere waiting for an adult to do something, or during the gap in a basketball game on television or in person.

3) Plan for reflective, online classroom activities. Use tools like Quizziz, Kahoot, and GetKnowt to create some online assessments.

Recording Video on the Go

Need tools for recording videos on the go? You can use your smartphone and an app to get the job done. Need some solutions for Android? How about iOS?

Sharing Videos in Seesaw

Sharing content in Seesaw has never been easier. The steps involve creating an announcement and adding an attachment. Then you select the type of attachment you want (a link). Afterwards, paste the link to your “shared with anyone” video resource. For a visual overview, check out this animated GIF that walks you through the process. Remember, you can have a copy of that video saved anywhere so long as it is “shared with anyone link.”

If you want to share a message straight to the camera, you can record video directly into Seesaw using your device’s camera. Instead of choosing LINK in the Add Attachment window, choose VIDEO, as shown in the picture below:

share video

Sharing Videos: Google Classroom

Google Classroom makes it easy to share content by posting it into its stream or to YouTube. If it’s an instructional video, you can then add questions with EdPuzzle. Dropping your videos into Google Drive, then sharing a public link is easy. Drop the link to the video in the Google Classroom stream. You may like Eric Curts’ video series on Google Classroom.

Final Thoughts

Still not sure what’s the best tool for the job? Let’s review the options below:

  • Flipgrid user? Need an easy to use tool, then Flipgrid screen recording is so easy. You can save your screencasts as MP4 videos on your computer. Flipgrid works via your browser, making it the perfect tool on mobile devices. This is also an amazing feature for students to use.
  • Screencastify? If you are a Chromebook users, or want to use a simple, powerful tool, then Screencastify will make the job easier. As a veteran Screencastify user, it’s one of my favorite tools. They are also announcing a new feature for students to use Screencastify. Find out more at Screencastify Submit.
  • OBS Project? Not afraid of a little complexity? OBS offers a free, no-cost screen recording tool that works on your Windows or Mac computer. It’s super-fast since it’s running on your computer.
  • Mobile user? Try XRecorder to screencast your Android screen, YouCut – Video Editor & Video Maker, No Watermark to blend pictures and video with light editing. On iOS?

Need a video editor? Use the free, open source Shotcut for Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux. Or if you need a browser-based web editor, WeVideo may be your only option (check here for more info).

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flexclip
ChromebooksWeb 2.0 Tool

FlexClip: Make Online Video Editing Easy

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Wish you had a wealth of education-centric video templates? Need to create a video resume or advertise your school? FlexClip offers many opportunities for this. Come along as I take a walk through of some of its features.

Updated 12/2020: See updates at the end of this blog entry.

What’s the FlexClip Story?

While you may not have heard of FlexClip, you probably have heard of Pearl Mountain Limited. They have authored audio and video editing desktop software for years. Now, with FlexClip, their goal is to simplify video creation and editing via a web-based tool. It’s designed to be easy to use to create professional videos. To do that, they have created a wizard to guide you, as well as a library of templates.

How Much Does FlexClip Cost?

Web-based video editors seldom come with a lot of features for free, so FlexClip won’t be a replacement for a powerhouse tool like WeVideo. If you want top-notch video editing, you may want to defer to for profit or open source editors. Some of my favorite video editors (e.g. Shotcut) appear online. Take a peek at my Copyright-Free Media and Tools wakelet collection.

FlexClip is available in three pricing structures, as shown below:

Note that the free version includes the FlexClip watermark. It limits total length of videos to one minute with at most twelve projects. Worse, the video quality is low at 480 pixels at standard definition (SD). You will need to pay to get to three minutes of video or five minutes. This becomes apparent when you seek to export your video creation, as seen below.

A rule of thumb is to keep videos under two minutes. Can you get your point across in two minutes or less? You’ll have to with FlexClip. If these limitations fuel your creativity, then keep reading.

Wizard Assistant

Having a guide to get you started working with video can be a time-saver. FlexClip’s website includes video templates for many areas you can adapt. For example, consider the seven templates for education:

Once you select a template, you can add a storyboard, video, photo, or recording. The wizard walks you through adding dynamic text animations. What’s amazing is the wealth of audio clips, as well as the ability to import your own. You can also record yourself using your microphone.

You can enhance your video with various components. Let’s take a quick look at each.

Storyboard

FlexClip enjoys a rich storyboard. You’re never at a loss to discover a new way to organize media and text on the screen. When you add a storyboard or slide, you get access to stock media (e.g. videos) such as what appears below:

You can also add your own photos or rely on FlexClip’s extensive library.

It’s amazing what combinations you will be able to come up with.

Dynamic Text

“I devour tall tales, short stories, and man cubs. Care to join me?” asks Shere Khan. In this short promotional video, Shere Khan from Rudyard Kipling’s story, The Jungle Book, appears. It was so easy to create this slide, then add creepy music. As you can see from the dynamic text options, you have much to begin with.

Looking for an easy to use video maker and editor? FlexClip gets the job done. You can see my slight deviation from the video template online. Give FlexClip a spin. It’s great fun for short projects that you can blend into longer ones.

FlexClip Updates (12/2020)

In December, 2020, FlexClip announced a few updates to their product, FlexClip 2.0. The updates appear below:

  • Save time uploading multiple videos at once with the bulk upload video feature;
  • Copy and paste styles in a click of a button;
  • The undo and redo functions in case you make a mistake or change your mind;
  • Built-in screen or webcam recorder;
  • 400+ new video templates to fit almost all occasions;
  • Add 1,000+ stickers to make your designs more fun;
  • Apply text animations, overlays, and watermarks in a fresh new way;
  • Support resizing a video to square (1:1), vertical (4:5), landscape (16:9), portrait (9:16), and widescreen (21:9);
  • Optimize video export speed and performance;
  • Share videos directly to Dropbox or YouTube;
  • Some other functionality improvements, etc.
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Headliner
Technology ApplicationsWeb 2.0 Tool

Create Social Media Videos for Free

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

We all know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch in today’s world. So I was surprised to discover Headliner. Headliner allows you to quickly, easily, and freely create short videos that are perfect for social media posts on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Unlike some other free apps, this one is really professional. In fact, it’s regularly used by the Wondery, WGBH, NPR, BBC, CNN, and others. Registration is required, but everything included with the program is completely free.

How Headliner Works

Once you create your account, you are given the option of working on a sample project. This is a great way to learn how the app works. You can change the captions and photos, play with the audio, and add other media. The sample project is from a 21-second clip about the live-action version of the Lion King, so it’s appropriate for students to work on.

You can start a new Headliner film by selecting Audiogram, Automated, or Blank Project. An Audiogram is probably the simplest one to use as it generates a basic video in just minutes. Automated transcribes your audio, pulls relevant keywords, and matches them to images. This is great if your students have recorded podcasts about their learning. (It should be noted that Automated is still in Beta and so might be a little glitchy.) Blank Project lets you start from scratch in the editor by selecting the aspect ratio you want to use for the specific social media site you want to post on. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what aspect ratio to pick; they tell you which one works best for which social media site.) To see an example video, scroll to the bottom of this page and watch the one on how plastic is ruining everything.

What’s Included

There are a ton of features included with this free tool:

  • Unlimited stock images
  • Text animation
  • Waveforms
  • Audio clipping
  • Unlimited videos
  • Transcription
  • 1080p export

You can create a video from an audio clip to share (maximum length of 10 minutes) or make a video from a full episode of audio (maximum length of two hours) for YouTube. They even go so far as to allow you to send them any custom or brand-specific fonts that you want to use in your projects and they will associate those with your account. They also offer a free chat icon that will help answer your questions.

Using Headliner in the Classroom

While the app states that it was designed for “podcasters, marketers, musicians, publishers, and radio stations,” it also works well for communication or tech departments in school districts, as well as for secondary students. (Because the app is used by professionals, there may be some completed videos that are not appropriate for younger students.)

Because you can use Headliner to also transcribe a video you already have, it has great potential for use with ESL/bilingual students. You could upload the daily school announcement video, for example, and have it automatically closed captioned.

If you want to really incorporate creativity into your classroom, Headliner can help. Students will love being able to create their own interpretations of new content and share them on social media for others to learn from. And that’s powerful!

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Good TeachingMicrosoft Tips and Tricks

Simple Video Tricks

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

A week doesn’t go by that a friend doesn’t ask me, “Can you help me with video editing?” Lacking formidable video skills myself, this blog will show you how folks continue to believe I’m a video editing whiz. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Here are my simple video tricks.

Get a copy of this infographic as a Google Slides version you can edit

Trick #1 – Get Videos Off the Web

“I want this video. How do you save the video?” asks my friend. She will send me links to both YouTube and embedded videos on web pages. After explaining that this is a violation of YouTube’s Terms, I offer some tips. There are three tools that I will try to use. I’m going to share them in order of ease of use.

Approach #1 – Media Grabber (Chrome browser)

If you haven’t heard of the lightning fast Torch Browser for your Windows 10 computer, you need to check it out. It has a lot of amazing features, including streamlining your Facebook window (getting rid of advertisements), a built-in torrent downloader (we won’t be going into that much), and web music player. Since Torch Browser is based off of Chrome browser, you can use all your favorite add-ons (e.g. Screencastify) with it. Think of it as Chrome Browser Plus.

The tool that makes getting video easy is Media Grabber. This is the tool you will use to pull videos off web pages, including YouTube. It also makes it easy to strip the audio from a video. That is useful when you want just an audio file of a video file (Note: Torch saves audio in AAC format. You can convert AAC to MP3 audio format with Audacity or Cloud Convert). This is what the tool looks like in the tool bar:

You will want to click on the blue arrow icon. It will save the video to your computer as an MP4. You can further customize Media Grabber to also save the audio. To do that, go into your browser settings, just as you would in Chrome, and then go to Advanced–>Media Grabber screen. As you can see from the screenshot below, you have several options.

Approach #2 – Video Download Helper (Firefox Quantum browser)

Familiar with the new, fast Firefox Quantum browser? If not, you should give it a whirl. A complete rewrite of Firefox, it offers vast speed improvements over previous lag-prone versions. The Quantum version also features low compatibility with add-ons. Two that I must mention include the Video Download Helper and Multi-Account Containers.

The add-on that has been a long-term friend of folks who need to save videos off the web, including YouTube, is Video Download Helper. As you can see from the screenshot, I must get a copy of that Hotel Transylvania movie trailer. Video Download Helper makes doing so in a wide variety of formats easy.

Aside: What are Multi-Account Containers? This add-on is fantastic for keeping your internet cookies separate (e.g. Facebook can’t track you since all its tracking cookies are kept in their own jar). This add-on has nothing to do with video, I just felt compelled to mention it.

Approach #3 – ATube Catcher

ATube Catcher gives you access to an actual program you install on your Windows computer. It has a variety of features, best represented with this opening menu of options:

As you can see, these are drop-dead simple options for pulling video off the web. There are many options for how to save the video you get off the web. Here’s what that looks like:

The process is quite simple, only many are unaware of such a powerful, free, open source tool at their fingertips.

Trick #2 – Cropping Videos

Now that you know my top tricks for getting video off the internet, you may find this one a bit esoteric. I am often asked “How do you crop videos, like you would a picture, to get rid of a caption?” Consider this image below:

Image Source: New Bell’s South Africa TV Ad

If you want to use this video in an instructional setting, you may not want to see the caption, “Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18. Drink Responsibly.” To get rid of that, follow these general steps:

  1. Use a screen-casting tool to capture your screen and system audio
  2. Select only the part of the screen you want in to get
  3. Save the video

This process can be problematic for some since some screen-casting tools only let you grab the entire desktop or tab in a web browser. Still, there are several ways. This is just one approach I use with Screencastify Premium.

This awesome Chrome browser friendly add-on allows me to record a video, then crop it AFTER the screen-cast is complete. Here’s a video from Screencastify that explains the process.

Wait, wait, here’s one more trick that often comes in handy.

Trick #3 – Flip that Video

Flipping video on Android using Google Photos – Edit the video, then tap on the ROTATE option at the bottom of screen,

“An epidemic at little kids’ sporting events, I refer to this as vertical video syndrome (VVS),” says Dawn Bradley. Ever start recording video on your phone and then realize you’re holding it wrong? Here’s an example. When recording video, you are supposed to hold it sideways (horizontally). Often, though, in the excitement of the moment, we forget and the phone is held in a vertical manner (a.k.a. portrait mode). There are several ways to flip the video so it displays in landscape mode.

  • Use an online tool like Clideo
  • iOS user? Try Video Rotate and Flip ($0.99 for cropping feature)
  • Android user? Use Google Photos app on your device to edit the video, then rotate it.

Wasn’t That Easy?

If you are saying to yourself, “Wow, that was less painful than I thought it would be,” you are right. Getting and flipping videos isn’t as hard as it once was. Much of the work can be done with no-cost tools. Give it a try. You never know when these tricks will save you, or maybe someone who needs your help, time and stress.

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lumen5
Good Teaching

Lumen5-Powered Videos

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Want to capture people’s attention with video? Then Lumen5 may offer you a way to create powerful videos from blog entries, news articles, and online text. If you’re like me, you are not a video designer. I have no idea how to better arrange pictures with quotes to create a video segment, or what accompanying music to use for the soundtrack. Therefore, my videos often lack punch and engagement because I’m uncertain in my arranging skills. Allow me to introduce you to a tool you can use in the classroom to create a technology anticipatory set.

Lumen5 Saves the Day

The good news is that Lumen5.com has some absolutely beautiful video arrangements and tools for the video challenged. Take an existing blog entry or web-based text and then let Lumen5 do the rest. Here are two examples that I shared via YouTube.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMsqo6m5-Fs]

Read the blog entry, Creating Worlds of Tomorrow, from which the video above was created. Here’s another example, Enhancing Parental Access with OneNote Class Notebook.

Creative Process

After getting your free account at their website, you can click on the CREATE VIDEO button and see a screen similar to the one shown below:

lumen

The process is drop-dead simple, allowing you to paste in a website address. You will have the option of grabbing the text from the first section of the article. You can also cherry-pick choice sentences. Each sentence series gets a slide with its own picture. Longer text is split across slides with matching images. You are able to edit sentences once selected for readability. You can put (a.k.a. upload) your own pictures in the slides. Another option for finding relevant images involves an internet search, which is built-into the Lumen5 interface. Placing pictures in the slideshow is drag-and-drop easy.

A few other screen shots:

lumen

In the shot above, you can see the results of an image search with “Minecraft” as the search term. Below, you see stock soundtracks you can add to your video. You also have the option of NOT adding sound, saving the movie as an MP4, and then modifying it in iMovie, WeVideo, Shotcut, or another video editor.

lumen

Rendering the video can take anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour, as shown below:

lumen

Once the video is done rendering, you can save it as an MP4 to your computer/device in anticipation of putting it on YouTube or another online storage location (e.g. OneDrive, Google Drive).

lumen

In the Classroom

It wasn’t until high school that I started figuring out how to read non-fiction text, picking out what text would make it into a test. Now, much of the non-fiction text that students read finds its way online. Pull text from anywhere, such as Dogo News, Newsela, Newseum,  or Tween Tribune and then paste the web link into Lumen5 for a quick summarization tool.

lumen

For example, the video below was generated from the Tween Tribune article, Watching Others Play Video Games the next big thing. It might be fun to create a summary of online content using Lumen5.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJIURH2NWCw&w=560&h=315]

Rendering Time: 90 minutes*

*Note: When I checked with Lumen5 crew, they mentioned that the long rendering time is atypical. Most videos are rendered in ten minutes or less. They asserted that my experience may have been due to some unfortunate server errors they experienced early on. As I recall now, the server did crash while I was using it, so this supports their assertion. Let me know in the comments if your experience matches their assertions.

Closing Thoughts

How do you see yourself using Lumen5 in your K-12/adult learning situation? Given the rendering time, it’s not a quick tool to use. Another piece that needs tweaking involves the slide editing component. Although I uploaded a picture, a screen shot of the actual article at Tween Tribune, I was unable to place the picture on its own slide alone. I would have had to replace the image and text of an existing slide. That may just involve some planning ahead, adding slides you don’t need so you can replace the image.

One thing is for certain, students can easily adapt the technique Lumen5 introduces with a variety of video editors. Lumen5’s approach serves as an excellent starting point for beginners like me.

 

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