For K-12 Public School Teachers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have used HeyGen to create a short AI avatar video explaining a concept to your students — without a camera, a recording studio, or video editing skills. Post it to Google Classroom for absent students, use it as a flipped classroom introduction, or build a library of on-demand mini-lessons.
What you'll need
Before opening HeyGen, write your script. This is the key step — 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, 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) — no avatar required, 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.