Teachers this is for you. You are entering this distance learning, hybrid, F2F trainwreck that is our school year and I want to help you make it just a tiny bit easier. I’m going to guide you through recording lessons in Loom to help your students wherever they’re learning from.
What is Loom?
Loom is a platform where you can record yourself, your screen, or a combination of both. They offer a desktop app and navigation through an internet browser.
Record, edit, and post all in one spot using the Loom software. You do need a strong internet connection for it to upload to the website (be mindful that if you lose it, your video might get stuck in purgatory)
When you finish recording, you are able to download the video. I like to add the video to my Google Drive so I can always access it.
The free version of Loom allows you to record 25 videos so it’s best to save and archive on their site to save space if you’re recording a bunch.
Top 3 Reasons to be Recording your Lessons
Face to Face Teachers
You can record your lesson ahead of time and make it available for students to look back at after your Live in person teaching. If a student is absent, you can share the video with them so they don’t miss anything and can stay up to date.
Hybrid Teachers
You’re in a tricky spot with handling in person students, virtual students, and some form of AB days. You can record your lesson once and play it for all students (no matter when you see them or connect with them online). It’s a bit of work up front but it will save you time.
Virtual Teachers
You can record lessons so that you aren’t “live teaching” during those zoom/meet calls. It frees you up to help answer questions during that time instead of pushing content. I recommend recording frequently asked questions and have the videos posted on your online classroom.
What are my lesson recording options in Loom?
You have three visual choices to record in Loom. Needed: a microphone and a Webcam.
- Screen + Cam: you can choose the size of the picture in screen. The one pictured above is the standard size but you can make it bigger or smaller. You can also change the position of the bubble by dragging it around your screen.
- Screen Only: this will record you navigating on your screen and your voice (if the mic is turned on) but it will not display you in the bubble. Your mouse pointer can be seen.
- Cam Only: It’s just you (picture a FaceTime or Skype call) where you take up the whole screen.
What do the buttons do?
Starting from top to bottom
The square is to stop the recording and have Loom process it. Depending on how long the video is, it can take a few seconds to a few minutes. This is the finished button.
The back arrow will restart your video if you mess up or goof on what you’re saying. However you don’t have to use this because you can always edit the video and cut out your bloopers later.
The two lines up and down is your pause button. If you need to switch the computer screen, take a break mid video, or need a second to gather your thoughts, click this button to pause the recording.
The trash can will scrap the video that you’re working on without it saving to Loom’s website.
The pencil at the bottom is the drawing feature that is only available in the Pro Version.
How do I edit the recorded lesson?
When your video is processed it will look like this picture. You can click the scissors to trim the video.
After the trim button is pressed, click the gray box “start trimming” and move the sliders around. You are able to make multiple cuts. Say goodbye to all those bloopers!
I’m done, now what?
You will want to click the download button and save the video. You can store it on your computer, on google drive, or wherever works best for you.
The video is also stored on Loom so you can keep accessing it there. It gives you the option to share directly from Loom via a code just make sure your privacy settings are set up.
I typically write about STEM and elementary education but I thought this tool would be so helpful for all teachers! If you’re in need of digital resources for STEM, check out my past blogs on how I’m teaching these skills this year.
I hope this how-to guide was helpful & can make your school year just a little bit easier. Let me know if you need any help by sending an email to meg@brownesbunchofstem.com.
