10 Best Video Lecture Software You Can Find in 2024

eLearning is no longer 'innovative' — it's the norm.

In fact, 40% of Fortune 500 companies use e-learning to train their staff🤯. And knowledge retention rates increase by 25% to 60% when you use online learning tools.

If you haven't yet jumped on the eLearning bandwagon, here's some excellent news for you: There's tons of great video software to make lectures super easy to record, edit, and publish.

In this blog post, you'll find a list of the best lecture recording software and tools to help you become a skilled video lecture creator in less time than you think!

Let's dive in! 👇

First, how do you even begin to choose the best lecture recording software?

You have an overwhelming range of options to record video lectures, all with different prices and unique features. So how do you choose the best one?

You need lecture recording software that 1) Is easy for YOU to use and 2) Does exactly what YOU need it to do. 

See the common thread there? It's you!

Different lecture capture software is designed for different use cases, so while reading this guide, look for the functionality you need the most for recording video lectures.

How to spice up your video lecture to make it more appealing for learners

Traditional video lecturing was basic at best: hit record, maybe add a title, and hope your poor students will suffer through the full 2 hours of lecture recording.

Today, you can do so much more to improve the quality of your screen recordings and lecture videos. To spice up your lectures, consider adding: 

• B-roll footage, animations, or graphics.
• Smooth and visually appealing transitions between scenes.
• Text overlays that highlight essential concepts or key takeaways.
• Background music or sound effects to complement the tone and mood of the lecture.
• Interactive elements such as clickable quizzes.

You can also turn longer lectures into evergreen microlessons that students can use when studying. Microlessons are bite-sized modules with videos around 3 minutes long and are designed to be more easily consumed.

Best overall lecture capture software: Synthesia

Synthesia is an AI text-to-video generator with built-in speech synthesis that allows you to create video lectures using just your web browser. Upload your content in Synthesia and enrich your video recording with professional elements that help keep your student's attention.

Here are Synthesia's top features:

• User-friendly video editing tools to cut and trim lectures.
• Video templates that you can customize and use to shortcut lecture creation.
• A built-in screen recorder, which makes it simple to add screencasts to your lecture.
• Easily customize titles, transitions, animations, photos, and other visual elements.
• Use text-to-speech to create additional audio narration or voiceovers with a few mouse clicks.
• Get AI-generated close captions at the click of a button.
• Add a human-like AI avatar to provide commentary or expand on key points. You could also create a custom avatar of yourself or other lecturers.

Best LMS with lecture capture software: Echo360

Echo360 is an intricate educational technology platform packed with audio and video features that allow you to create, capture, manage, and store video lectures. Echo360 is great lecture recording software when you need a comprehensive e-learning platform.

Here are Echo360's top features:

• High-quality video streaming for the live capture lectures.
• Simple cut, trim, and splice options to edit your lecture recording.
• Automatic transcription and closed captions to make lecture recording more inclusive.
• Powerful video delivery and storage system for your course materials.
• Polled quizzes to add a bit of interactivity to recorded lectures.
• Get analytics for instructors and administrators in just a few clicks.
• Integrations with learning management systems like D2L, Sakai, Blackboard, Google Classroom, and Canvas.

Best lecture capture software solution for universities: YuJa

YuJa is an advanced video platform typically used by large universities to scale their lecture capture. Consider YuJa if you have a team of professors who all need lecture recording software frequently.

Here are YuJa's top features:

• Hardware and software video lecture solutions, including mobile and tablet apps.
• Livestreaming in multiple quality levels, for viewers to watch your lecture at the highest quality supported by their computer and network configuration.
• Video quizzes with real-time feedback.
• Dashboards where you can see how your students learn and progress.
• Integration with multiple learning management systems.

Best lecture capture software for interactions: PlayPosit

PlayPosit is an interactive video learning platform that enables K-12 and Higher Ed teachers to add various interactions to their videos. While you can create videos within PlayPosit, it's a great idea rather to import your lecture recordings and then add interactive elements.

Here are PlayPosit's top features:

• Interactive elements like open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, in-video quizzes, and discussions.
• Custom settings for the timing and the duration of each interaction, so students can comfortably go through the lecture before answering.
• Annotations and other video overlays that provide additional information.
• Built-in analytics to give your students individual or collective feedback.

Best video bundle with lecture capture software: Movavi

Movavi is a video-making bundle that helps educators by providing lecture recording software, a file converter, and full video editing capabilities. You can capture your lecture on your computer using its friendly recording interface and edit videos after you start recording

Here are Movavi's top features:

• Select full screen only OR screen and webcam simultaneously with the screen recorder.
• Draw on your screen while recording or highlight the mouse cursor when recording software demos to include in your video lectures.
• Combine content from multiple sources and only keep what you need, using the cut, trim, and crop editing tools.
• Add background music, filters, visual transitions, and audio effects.
• Add text overlays anywhere on the screen, with custom font and colors.

Best free video recording software: ScreenPal

ScreenPal is a screencasting and video editing software tool that supports teachers, schools, and universities with free and paid video tools. Its free software for screen capture requires no account creation and is an easy way to start recording video lectures.

Here are ScreenPals's top features*:

• User-friendly option to record and share your lessons with students.
• Video management to organize your lecture videos in a library.
• Interactive quizzes with multiple choice, short answers, polls, true/false, or rating questions you can add anywhere in your lecture.
• Option to capture insights and analytics with individual results and heat maps.
• Integrations with Canvas, Moodle, Schoology, Brightspace, Google Classroom, and Google Drive.
• *(Editors note: some of these features are paid)

Best browser extension lecture recording software: EdPuzzle

EdPuzzle is a video editing platform and formative assessment tool. Teachers use it to record lectures, edit video content, and evaluate students with its built-in analytics. EdPuzzle's recent upgrade offers a Google Chrome extension that allows you to record your screen and work on your capture with several editing options.

Here is EdPuzzle's top features:

• Basic functions like trim and crop.
• Multiple-choice and open-ended questions, as well as quizzes.
• Text or audio introductions, including your voiceover.

Support software for better virtual lectures

Video lecturing is about delivering educational content that your students can later consume in various ways. But that comes with some challenges, and the following tools will help your students be more engaged and make your life easier.

Host live lecture discussions with Zoom

Zoom is a communications platform that teachers can use to deliver live video lectures or share pre-recorded lectures with their students.

Here are some of the software features you could use when lecturing on Zoom:

• Screen sharing and interactive whiteboard to illustrate concepts, write notes, or draw diagrams in real time.
• Public chat and breakout rooms to divide participants into smaller groups and have students learn for collaborative activities.
• Separate Q&A window for managing questions in live video lectures with many participants.
• Built-in polling and survey capabilities to gather feedback, conduct quizzes, or assess student understanding during your lecture.
• Security measures, including password protection, waiting rooms, and host controls, ensure the privacy and safety of your video lecture.

Improve graphic design with Canva

Canva is a graphic design tool you can use to:

• Create personalized video lectures or lesson plans, infographics, posters, and graphs to complement your existing lectures.
• Make free video presentations with built-in visuals and a record of you as a talking head.
• Add text, animation, audio, and transition effects to your video lecture to make it more dynamic and engaging.
• Collaborate with multiple users to create a video lecture and share your recordings on various channels.

Generate lecture transcriptions with Otter AI

Otter AI uses speech recognition technology to generate transcriptions and note-taking. You can either import your video lecture into Otter.ai or play it on your computer's speakers and record with Otter.ai running in the web browser to:

• Automatically pull out transcriptions from a recorded video lecture to avoid taking notes yourself.
• Generate captions from the voiceover in your lecture.
• Summarize key points you can use to review and revise your lecture for future improvements.
• See the time markers on your record to identify where different key topics are discussed and ease your navigation through the content.

Create a video lecture that stands out

Make the most of your lectures by turning them into engaging, interactive videos your students will happily watch from anywhere.

With Synthesia, the best overall lecture recording solution, you can transform your existing lecture recordings or record your screen to make new ones from scratch using just your web browser.

Try the free AI video generator and see how easy it is to whip up a professional video in minutes.