With the adjustments to our classroom environment caused by COVID-19, most of us have been forced to be much more creative and resourceful. Throughout the past year, Cathy and I have had to create many teaching tools for our virtual and online learning environments. From creating practice exercise templates and visual aids to help increase student engagement, we have utilized Microsoft’s snipping tool. This free tool has added efficiency to creating our learning resources. This is a tool that we have used for years, but recently we were asked about recommending good “clip and paste” tools.
Some of the reasons that we like to use the Microsoft snipping tool are:
- This is a tool that is free and easy to use and is part of the Windows Operating System
- A user can edit the clipped snapshots
- Snipping Tool allows a user to write on the screen capture and save it
- Captured images can be stored in many formats
- After capturing the screen, it automatically gets copied and it can be immediately pasted into a document
The free Windows Snipping Tool allows users to do the following:
| Free-form snip | Draw a free-form shape around an object. |
| Rectangular snip | Drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle. |
| Window snip | Select a window, such as a dialog box, that you want to capture. |
| Full-screen snip | Capture the entire screen. |
There are several ways to begin using the Microsoft snipping tool, but the easiest way is to select the Shift, Windows button and the “S” keys.
For more information about the Microsoft clipping tool, visit: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots-00246869-1843-655f-f220-97299b865f6b
In addition to the free Windows snipping tool, we suggest using
- Or the print screen function and then pasting it into paint.
Begin using one of these snipping tools today and immediately improve your efficiency in creating documents for your classroom.
© 2021 Teaching and Learning Toolbox
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