Instructify

BY KEVIN HODGSON

I have mostly avoided online video-editing platforms because I have found them too clunky or too slow to use. But recently, I decided to give JayCut a shot. Like most “cloud-based” applications, JayCut is housed entirely online. You upload the video content into your account, then the editing begins.

There is a lot to like about JayCut. The interface is fairly clean and straightforward. You drag and drop your raw videos, add titles and transitions, layer in music, and more.

I did not like the tiny preview window, which made me squint to see what I was doing. And perhaps it was my wireless connection, but the preview was sort of jumpy at times. But it did not take me long to splice and edit together three raw video clips from a Flip video camera, add some music, and publish and export the finished video to Youtube (JayCut gives you a few possibilities for hosting the videos).

In the Classroom

JayCut comes loaded with some selected images and sounds, which means that students could easily dive right in and begin creating something. If your class uses Flip Cameras, a site like JayCut could be valuable for working on video projects in school and at home. Since the videos are stored online, a student could access their work from anywhere with a broadband connection (this assumes that students have email and your school allow them to create their own accounts in JayCut). JayCut might also be a scaffolding site for learning about the basics of video editing, then shifting that experience to iMovie or some other more advanced platform.

JayCut

Desktop video editing software review

Online video editing applications

Related stuff

Create the next great wildlife documentary with National Geographic’s Wildlife Filmmaker

Produce an Educational Video in Your Classroom