52 TOOLS

Best Tech-Creation Tools

Students love to make and create to demonstrate what they're learning. However, teachers know that the creative process isn't just about having students demonstrate what they already know; it's also about getting students to construct mental models and learn through experience. By making things, students build meaning, work through problems, and acquire new knowledge and skills in context. There's built-in challenge to creation that gets students thinking in new ways while building their confidence. With this in mind, we've compiled this list of terrific tools for tech creation that offer a wide variety of engaging end products kids can create, from stories to animations to music to games. 

Video and Animation

Easy Stop Motion studio: Introduction to animation

Ideal, easy-to-use way to help kids learn basic animation

Bottom Line: This introduction to digital animation offers lots of opportunities for creativity for young students.

Grades: K–2
Price:
Paid

Screencast-O-Matic

Create and edit sophisticated screencasts without breaking the bank

Bottom Line: This is the most flexible screencasting tool, but it requires patience -- and perhaps a subscription -- to unlock all of its possibilities.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Shadow Puppet Edu

Resource-rich video slideshow maker a gem for a variety of classrooms

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use free tool is a must-have for elementary classrooms; just keep an eye on sharing and privacy.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free

Green Screen by Do Ink

Versatile, easy-to-use moviemaker and photo editor yields great results

Bottom Line: High-quality moviemaker and photo editor has numerous uses for students' projects.

Grades: 3–8
Price:
Paid

Animaker Video Maker & Editor

Design and present animated infographics and video with versatile site

Bottom Line: A great media creation tool that could be used all year long for everything from posters to videos, but teachers will need to make learning goals clear.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Loom

Create, present, and assess with effortless interactive screencasts

Bottom Line: This intuitive tool is excellent for recording and responding to screencasts of any length.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Screencastify

Easy screen-recording tool facilitates outside-the-box instruction

Bottom Line: This is an instructional tool that could reinvent classroom workflow, especially for classrooms in the Google ecosystem.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Paid

VEED

Create and edit high-quality screencasts and videos in record time

Bottom Line: This platform is full of features that blend video creation and screencasting, helping teachers expand and differentiate their lessons.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free, Free to try

Binumi

One-stop shop for creating and assigning beautiful video stories

Bottom Line: Set students up for storytelling success with quality content and tools in a safe environment.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Wick Editor

Design interactive games and animations with creative online platform

Bottom Line: A great starting place for aspiring creators to design and share engaging content.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free

Animoto: Video Maker & Editor

Create stylish slideshows and videos with simple, customizable features

Bottom Line: Slick videos and slideshows are easy to make, but it takes a little work to make it fit for classroom use.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free to try

Clips

Create and share videos with cool effects, tons of language options

Bottom Line: This slick video creation app is fun, empowering, and accessible in lots of languages, but be careful with sharing.

Grades: 8–12
Price:
Free

Adobe Premiere Rush

Create and share professional-looking videos from nearly any device

Bottom Line: It's an intuitive platform for video creation that also prepares students for more complex software.

Grades: 8–12
Price:
Free to try

Coding and Game Design

Minecraft: Education Edition

Stellar collaboration tools, controls make Minecraft classroom-ready

Bottom Line: An excellent tool to engage students in learning, collaboration, and critical thinking is now more accessible than ever to teachers.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free to try

Elementari

Storybook creation tool offers cool blend of ELA, art, and coding

Bottom Line: This is a great storytelling tool for younger kids that also offers an entry point into coding and computational thinking.

Grades: 1–5
Price:
Free, Paid

Scratch

Creative sandbox opens the door to coding in any subject area

Bottom Line: Scratch draws students of all types into coding and lays a foundation for future learning.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free

The Infinite Arcade by Tinybop

Simple game-design app has endless creative potential

Bottom Line: Letting students design, play, improve, and share their own games opens up opportunities for learning potential in many subject areas.

Grades: 2–6
Price:
Paid

Gizmos & Gadgets

Top-notch tool empowers kids to invent, build, and control wirelessly

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use, versatile electronic invention set that works wirelessly with your hand-held device.

Grades: 2–8
Price:
Free, Paid

SAM Labs

Kids use block code and wireless blocks to program, design, and create

Bottom Line: With some perseverance, it's a great fit for PBL and STEAM, helping students learn programming skills and engineering concepts through invention.

Grades: K–8
Price:
Free, Paid

Tynker

Approachable and powerful coding curriculum with a lot of support

Bottom Line: Tynker empowers students of all ages and experience levels to create custom coding projects for a variety of platforms.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free to try

MAD-learn

Create mobile apps with extensive help from start to finish

Bottom Line: Intuitive platform encourages students to engage in design thinking and coding with loads of support.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Paid

Google CS First

Middle school CS curriculum has stellar resources, room for creativity

Bottom Line: A high-quality introductory CS curriculum where students can be creative, collaborate with others, and express themselves, in the classroom or at home.

Grades: 4–8
Price:
Free

Gamestar Mechanic

Engaging manga-themed quest to become a game designer

Bottom Line: Game design quests have everything students want but perhaps not everything teachers need.

Grades: 3–8
Price:
Free to try

Metaverse

Ambitious augmented-reality tool engages users, promotes coding skills

Bottom Line: This dynamic tool allows users to create and experience augmented-reality activities while learning 21st-century skills.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free

Ready Maker

Fun and easy game design yields surprisingly complex creations

Bottom Line: With teacher support, a creative introduction to coding and game design.

Grades: 4–12
Price:
Free, Paid

LearnToMod

Modify Minecraft with this fun, applied use of coding

Bottom Line: For students who already know and love Minecraft, this is a valuable way to hook students into coding.

Grades: 5–12
Price:
Paid

Stencyl

Code-free game development tool helps kids program and publish

Bottom Line: It ups the sophistication of building block coding by connecting student work to major publishing platforms.

Grades: 5–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Unity Learn

Complete game creation curriculum gives students real-world experience

Bottom Line: It's a slick, fun, and effective way to get students building games right away, with plenty of room for depth.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Zulama

Teach a vast number of CS concepts with quality, depth, and choice

Bottom Line: Zulama will help any middle or high school implement a comprehensive computer science program.

Grades: 5–12
Price:
Free to try, Paid

Machine Learning for Kids

Authentic AI-powered projects make kids' creations feel like magic

Bottom Line: It takes a topic that would be difficult to teach in any practical way and makes it accessible for the classroom.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

micro:bit

Code games or fun displays with mini piece of hardware

Bottom Line: This versatile tool for learning how to program with blocks or text is a nice fit for STEM classes and clubs.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Thunkable

Build a working iOS or Android app, even without coding experience

Bottom Line: Fun, practical way to get kids programming, though teachers will need a clear plan to support them in the process.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

GameMaker

One of the best creation tools available for aspiring game developers

Bottom Line: Great choice for a full unit or class on game design; fuels students game-making dreams.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free, Paid

GameSalad

Great interface, flexible publishing options make game-making a snap

Bottom Line: This engaging platform will empower budding game designers, but the price tag could be a deal-breaker for tight school budgets.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Paid

Art and Design

3DBear AR

3D design and augmented reality merge in creative, interactive app

Bottom Line: A great fit for classroom or makerspace settings as long as students have clear direction and compatible devices.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free, Free to try, Paid

3D Slash

Minecraft-like 3D modeling (and printing) made super easy for all ages

Bottom Line: This may be the fastest, cheapest route from idea to 3D printing out there, if you don't mind low-res, pixelated designs.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Tinkercad

Amazingly simple yet powerful online CAD tool turns kids into makers

Bottom Line: Full-featured site and app make iterative 3D design accessible, social, and relevant.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Adobe Capture CC

Magical design tool extracts colors, patterns, and more from images

Bottom Line: The rare combo of "wow" factor and utility, this tool help students recognize and use the designed world around them.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Genially

Create professional-looking media with an abundant library of templates

Bottom Line: It's a treasure trove of well-designed templates and features that encourage creativity and collaboration, but expect some growing pains.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Top-notch photo editor helps perfect pics for creative projects

Bottom Line: This is a powerful, free creation tool from the industry leader in photo editing.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

Sway

Create dynamic visual presentations on flexible storytelling platform

Bottom Line: A seamless transition from design to presentation makes Sway a great fit for presenting carefully curated content.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free

SketchUp

Make learning meaningful through 3D design

Bottom Line: SketchUp is a fantastic, subject-agnostic tool that does take time to learn but helps students gain truly useful, transferable skills.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Autodesk Sketchbook

Impressive creation tool for teens serious about art

Bottom Line: Gives students easy access to professional tools for creating digital art.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free to try

Piktochart

Create sleek media with cool templates, powerful features

Bottom Line: An easy-to-use tool for producing and sharing great visual content in the classroom.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Snapseed

Extremely powerful photo editor will equally delight pros, amateurs

Bottom Line: It successfully walks the fine line of photo-editing features, offering satisfying experiences for those making quick edits and those crafting perfect images.

Grades: 9–12
Price:
Free

Music and Recording

GarageBand

Amazingly powerful audio workstation unleashes creativity

Bottom Line: There's exceptional functionality in this solid, all-inclusive audio workstation that's fantastic for high-quality, anytime, and anywhere audio recording and sharing.

Grades: 3–12
Price:
Free

Auxy Studio - Music & Beat Maker

Loop beats like a pro with stellar music-maker

Bottom Line: A stellar, approachable tool for constructing your very own digital beats and tracks.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free

Flat

Compose, perform, and practice with powerful music education tool

Bottom Line: This digital companion for in-person music study is an excellent tool for beginners and pros alike.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free to try

Storytelling

Storybird

Social storytelling site helps kids create, publish storybooks

Bottom Line: A great fit for teachers looking to develop students' writing and digital citizenship skills through storybook creation.

Grades: K–12
Price:
Free to try

Pixton

Popular comics platform centers students' creativity

Bottom Line: Platform can motivate students to share subject knowledge in a way that blends art and literacy.

Grades: 2–12
Price:
Free to try

Sutori

Build timelines, embed media with cool storytelling tool

Bottom Line: With a super-simple design and tons of flexible features, this is an appealing and intuitive way for teachers and students to organize and share class content.

Grades: 6–12
Price:
Free, Paid

Anchor

Podcasting app is super easy to use, if you can do it all in one take

Bottom Line: There are few easier ways to publish a podcast, but that ease of use comes at the cost of one-take creation and few tools for post-production.

Grades: 7–12
Price:
Free

Related Content

Video
Take Classroom Video to the Next Level
Resource
Cheat Sheet: Getting the Most out of Video
Article
Take Your Makerspace from Dream to Reality
Article
How Librarians Are Rockin' the Makerspace Movement
Curated List
Classroom Tools That Use AI
Curated List
Lessons and Tools for Teaching About Artificial Intelligence
Curated List
Media Literacy Games, Tools, and Lessons