Nine Ways to Use Streamyard for your livestreaming needs.

In this weeks blog post we are going to explore Streamyard. The recent global pandemic resulted in a swift shift for the world, and in particular educators towards embracing video streaming and conferencing software and applications as we faced lockdowns and isolation required to minimise the spread of COVID-19. Streamyard is one of the many tools that we learnt about during this period, and it is a tool that we have decided to utilise here at Evolve EdTech to help with our video recording, and live streaming needs. So, what is Streamyard? Check out the short video from Streamyard below to learn more about this video streaming tool.

Streamyard is a versatile tool that can be used in many ways within a school or educational environment, and you can do this from your browser window - there is no need to harass admin and get softward downloaded and installed on your devices. Whilst Streamyard does offer some free functionality, the best functions arrive through the paid version (like most edtech products today). If you are lucky enough to have access to funds or you are able to self-fund a subscription to Streamyard it would be a sound investment. At the time of writing, Streamyard offers a free subscription, a basic subscription at $20USD/month and a pro subscription at $39USD/month. Check out the Streamyard website to learn more about the differences between these packages at streamyard.com/pricing

Well, enough about what Streamyard is and how much it costs. Let's get onto the good stuff in today's blog post. Today we are going to share NINE (9) ways that you could utilise Streamyard within your classroom, school, or community. So, checkout these NINE (9) ideas below:

#1: Present  information sessions to your school community on multiple platforms. You are able to connect and stream to various platforms including Facebook pages, groups and profiles, Twitch, Linkedin pages and profiles, Twitter, Youtube and custom destinations. Even better, you can stream to multiple platforms at the same time! 

#2: Deliver weekly or regular virtual assemblies with your students and school communities. Stay connected with your school commununity by delivering virtual assemblies through Streamyard. You can create custom graphics and format your virtual assembly to replicate a physical assembly. This option also allows parents/carers who can not attend in person to be more actively involved in their child/s life.

#3: Record presentations and use the Streamyard effects to improve your recordings. Streamyard is also capable of being used as a video recording tool. With this option you can access and use all of the Streamyard effects and functions to create a powerful video. At Evolve EdTech we use Streamyard to record our videos before they are finalised in WeVideo. These can be downloaded and saved locally or in cloud devices for future access.

#4: Download video recordings in an audio format. Yes, Streamyard also allow you to download your recordings or live streams in audio format. From this you can use these as potential podcasts, or share them with your students, colleagues or school community.

#5: Present professional learning virtually with your school or learning community. Professional learning doesn't just have to happen in person now. The COVID-19 pandemic created a shift in the way that professional learning is delivered to our colleagues and school community as we moved to virtual meetings using zoom, Teams, Google Meet etc, but Streamyard is another alternative to use for presenting virtual learning. With Streamyard you can create a professional looking webinar incorporating video, visuals, audio, and you can even engage your participants with the chat function. 

#6: Customise Streamyard to reflect your school, department or district brands, colours etc. Create a truly unique experience by branding your stream to reflect your school, department or district. With the free version of Streamyard you have the capacity to customise the colour of assets in broadcasts (assets are elements such as banner's, comments and people's names etc). With the Basic and Professional versions you are able to customise the colour of elements, and remove Streamyard branding from your streams.

#7: Record and distribute interviews on your school website or social media platforms. Have you ever wanted to interview someone but you have found it challenging to find a time to meet in person? Well, why not consider using Streamyard to record an interview. This can then be customised with the visual elements of Streamyard to create a powerful and professional video recording that can then be shared on platforms such as your school website or social media. Interviewing professionals, former staff and students, or even current staff, students or parents is a great way to create engagement with your school community.

#8: Use Streamyard to live stream presentations, ceremonies, sporting events with your community. Once again, the global COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that we can live stream most aspects of the school day with our local community. Streamyard is another powerful platform the complete this task. You can stream to multiple locations, it doesn't require people to 'sign-in' to access the stream, and you can create a very professional looking live stream yourself.

#9: Use Streamyard to host live demonstrations or training exercises​. Streamyard is the platform of choice for many people when it comes to host demonstrations or training exercises virtually. The simplicity of the platform makes it one of the most accessible and functional ways to engage with your community virtually. In addition to presenting live, your recordings are also available to download in video and audio formats which can then be shared with participants or uploaded on your LMS for future learning needs or access.

​If you are looking for a downloadable copy of these NINE (9) ways to use Streamyard you can download the Nine (9) Ways to use Streamyard infographic from Evolve EdTech by clicking here.