It’s pretty incredible what kinds of tools are available to consumers today to create professional-looking media. Case in point, Sparkol VideoScribe and PowToon, two similar products that allow users to create informational videos with text and images that look like they are being handwritten or hand drawn (a trend that is becoming very popular in advertising and PSAs). PowToon I had heard about when it came out, but I never got around to trying it. VideoScribe was introduced to me by Spanish teacher Dr. Carmen Campos (see her wonderful Pinterest boards) at the NYSAFLT Summer Institute earlier this month. Seeing her examples of how she used both VideoScribe and PowToon got my gears rolling and inspired me to finally try it for myself.
PowToon’s user interface
Both of these tools were a lot easier to use than I thought they would be. After playing around for a few minutes with the settings, I started to get the hang of it. Being an avid Photoshop user, which has a similar type of UI to these programs, may have made it a little easier, but I do think these programs were designed to be as user-friendly as possible.
Pros and Cons of Each Program
I liked both programs but based on my limited experience with them, I have to give PowToon the edge. Both have a lot in common, in that they have a premium version with better features, allow you to show hands writing text or drawing pictures, give you a selection of background music to choose from, and allow you to upload or record your own voiceover. PowToon, however, has some extra advantages, in that the free version is always free (whereas VideoScribe has a free trial and then you have to pay), it’s web-based (VideoScribe must be downloaded), the upgrade is cheaper for teachers, there seem to be more effects to choose from, and the overall video seemed to look more polished. I really couldn’t think of an advantage VideoScribe has over PowToon, although I liked it fine.
Video I made using PowToon (incorporated into the video I showed in my last post):
