Using video in the classroom to impact learning is a popular trend used by many educators across all grade levels and subjects. From flipped classroom practitioners to Khan Academy enthusiasts, countless teachers around the world agree that video learning is a pedagogical tool with a lot of potential. Swivl, a promising and robust video creation platform, promises to disrupt traditional video instruction and change the way educators record, manage, and share instructional videos with their students.

What is Swivl?

Swivl can be defined as a complete video learning solution. It consists of three elements that work seamlessly with each other: a hardware device called the Swivl Robot, an app for mobile devices named Swivl Capture, and a dedicated cloud hosting service called Swivl Cloud.

How it Works

The Swivl Robot is adjustable and can accommodate any mobile device, a phone or a tablet. All that a teacher has to do is place a mobile device on the Swivl Robot and use the marker, a sensor with a high quality microphone for audio capture that comes with Swivl. As the teacher moves around the room, Swivl will follow the movement of the marker, while the microphone captures audio. The marker is also equipped with two buttons that can be used to control the flow of slides, as well as to provide the teacher with capturing options.

See Also: The top 15 YouTube history channels for your classroom

The Swivl Capture app controls the Swivl Robot and enables teachers to manage their videos and slide presentations. Teachers can even use the app during recordings to control the timing of slides they have previously created and uploaded to the Swivl Cloud. The app will also automatically upload videos to the Swivl Cloud.

The Swivl Cloud is the place where a teacher can edit and trim a video, add slides that can be incorporated in the project, and finally produce and share the final product with their students. The Swivl Cloud works well with popular MLS’s, which makes sharing easy, and even allows students to enter comments, which stimulates discussion and encourages collective learning.

Pedagogical Implications Of Video Learning

Contrary to conventional video software and hardware solutions that require the teacher or speaker to be tethered to a specific area in front of the camera, Swivl provides the user with the ability to move around. In fact, Swivl encourages teachers to utilize movement and allows them to use slides, maps, and pictures that can be found anywhere in a classroom to improve their lessons, or just use proximity to improve the lesson’s effectiveness and increase student engagement.

Furthermore, Swivl is a tool with a huge potential for educators who are interested in the flipped classroom model, the blended learning model, or for teachers who simply want to record their lessons for absent students. Swivl’s user friendly interface and ability to capture, upload, and share the videos within one platform is something that many teachers interested in using video instruction in the classroom will find useful.

In addition, Swivl is an ideal match for teachers who are interested in the MakerSpaces movement in education. Swivl fits perfectly in dynamic learning environments that modify the teaching space on a daily basis, since it can be placed literally anywhere in the classroom and still do a fabulous job.

Finally, there is a lot to be said about Swivl’s enormous potential to be used as a Professional Development platform. The combination of the easy to use hardware with the unlimited cloud storage on the Swivl Cloud makes it ideal for educators or educational institutions who are interested in creating a bank of asynchronous PD sessions. The Swivl platform can be even used by organizers of education technology events to provide access to select sessions and content of the events to members of the educational community not able to attend.

Some Final Thoughts

Swivl is a platform that can empower educators to impact pedagogy in a dynamic way. Swivl’s 3-part instructional video creation model appears to be a complete solution that can be an attractive choice for many teachers, beginners or experienced video learning practitioners.

With so many teachers embracing video instruction it’s only natural that tools like Swivl will earn a place in many of our classrooms. It is exciting to see how educators will take advantage of the untapped potential of Swivl.