For K-12 Public School Teachers ·
What you'll accomplish
No camera, no recording studio, no video editing skills needed. HeyGen creates a short AI avatar video explaining a concept to your students. Post it to Google Classroom for absent students, use it as a flipped classroom intro, or add it to a library of on-demand mini-lessons.
What you'll need
Before opening HeyGen, write your script. This is the key step because the AI avatar reads exactly what you write, so the script IS the lesson. Keep it under 3 minutes for student attention spans (roughly 350-450 words).
Fast script method: Open ChatGPT and type:
Write a 2-minute script for an educational video explaining [concept] to [grade] students. Use simple language. Break it into 3-4 clear sections. End with a review question for students to think about.
Copy the script to a Google Doc for editing.
What you should see: A clean, conversational script in plain language.
Go to heygen.com → Sign up with your email → You'll land on the video creation dashboard. The free trial includes a limited number of video credits.
Click "Create a Video" → Choose "Avatar Video" → Browse the avatar library. Select a professional-looking avatar. HeyGen has male and female options and various ethnicities. You can also upload a photo to create a custom avatar of yourself (paid feature).
What you should see: A selection of realistic AI avatars you can preview.
Troubleshooting: If your school has concerns about using an AI avatar, use a slide-based video instead (next option), which needs no avatar and uses just slides with voiceover.
Paste your script into the text field next to the avatar. Select the voice (HeyGen has natural-sounding voices in multiple languages, useful for multilingual classrooms). Adjust the speaking speed if needed.
Click "Background" to choose a classroom-appropriate background, or import Google Slides to display alongside the avatar. For most teacher videos, a clean background with the avatar is sufficient.
Click "Generate". HeyGen will process your video in 2-5 minutes. Preview the result. Watch for: unnatural pauses, mispronounced terms, or avatar gestures that feel off.
What you should see: A polished video with the avatar speaking your script in a natural voice.
Troubleshooting: For subject-specific terms that get mispronounced (e.g., "photosynthesis," student names), add phonetic spellings in your script: "photo-SYNTHESIS."
Click "Download" (MP4 format) → Upload to Google Classroom as a material or post to YouTube as unlisted → Share the link with students in your class announcement.
Write a 2-minute script explaining [concept] to [grade] students. Assume they have no prior knowledge of this topic. Use 1 analogy and 1 example they can visualize.
Write a review video script for [upcoming test topic] for [grade] students. Cover the 3 most important ideas, give one example for each, and end with a sample practice question.
Write a "directions" video script for my [grade] class explaining how to complete [project/assignment]. Keep it under 2 minutes. Include what materials they need and the 3 main steps.