I used Genially some time ago and thought it was useful, but in some ways limited as I had a range of other tools that did what Genially did with more flexibility. I revisited it recently and, good gosh! I was genuinely blown away by how much it has evolved in the last year.
Genially now feels less like a single tool and more like a one place platform that will bring your learning materials to life – and all in a drag drop, click type interface (and of course with GenAI support built in – which is almost a given now in most tools). What has impressed me most is the sheer range of things you can create in one space and the options you have for sharing your learning content.
One platform, many use cases
Genially supports:
- Interactive PowerPoint style presentations
- Escape room activities with a range of content types combined in one expereince
- Live presentations with built in interaction
- Asynchronous learning content
- Interactive images and infographics
- Quizzes, polls and student interaction
- Video creation with animation and narration
- Video creation with animation and narration
- Text to voice for quick audio support
- Branching and scenario-based activities
- SCORM download for VLE integration (and even dynamic SCORM potential)
This makes it suitable for everything from in class teaching to fully asynchronous online learning, without switching between multiple tools.
Interactive presentations, live or asynchronous
Genially works well as an enhanced PowerPoint, but it goes far beyond that. Presentations can be interactive, non linear and layered, as always I am a big fan of active learning and these resources allow students to explore content rather than sit through it. The presentations can be used live, with interaction built in, or shared asynchronously for students to work through at their own pace.
Escape rooms
One of the standout features is the quality and range of ready made templates. The escape room templates, in particular, are excellent.
I am currently adding one of Genially’s escape room templates for primary level reading, roughly fourth class and up. It is ready to use, genuinely engaging and designed for group work, problem solving and fun (I recently completed it with a ten year old who wanted another one to do!). The structure supports collaboration, discussion and active reading.
The templates can be adapted for older learners. The same escape room format can be used in secondary or higher education for:
- case based learning
- revision and exam preparation
- ethical dilemmas
- clinical decision making
You are not building from scratch. You are adapting a set structure, so Genially handles the technical side. Many escape room building tools (properly engaging & visual) require time, and some technical patience while you ensure all the branches are in place. Genially templates are taking the heavy lifting out of this, and for time-scarred educators, I find this very exciting! Educators do not need coding, advanced design skills or specialist authoring knowledge. If you can navigate slides and basic editing tools, you can build genuinely interactive learning experiences.
Below is the link to give it a go yourself. If you don’t have time, I have added a video that runs through the experience for you – to give you the idea (but I would highly recommend you try it out – even share it with your students for this week before Christmas!)
SCORM, Google Classroom, MSTeams, and Downloads
The ability to download Genially projects as SCORM is also a big win. Even more impressive is that these are not static. The interactivity, branching and exploration remain intact once uploaded to the VLE and with a pro license, you have the option of using dynamic SCORMS (I still need to test this – but, again, with time always being an issue, this could be a huge time saver). The option to integrate the content into Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams is also available.
From primary to higher education
Some of the templates do have a primary education feel, and there is little doubt that Genially would be particularly useful for literacy, collaboration and playful learning at this age level. However, resources can easily be edited into secondary and higher education, supporting more complex scenarios and independent learning.
Final thoughts
Genially has quietly become an impressive all in one learning design platform. It reduces tool overload, lowers technical barriers and supports genuinely interactive learning across educational levels.
I am genuinely impressed.
If you have not revisited Genially recently, it is worth another look. It has moved far beyond where it started. It seems to have combined elements of Canva, H5P, video creation tools, text to voice, Vevox or Kahoot style interactions and even a touch of Articulate Storyline, and all without the steep learning curve. Although many of its resources feel primary school level – if you take it upon yourself to develop your own content then this tool is for all ages.
It even integrates with Canva!!! I will leave you with there main updates from the beginning of 2025 and their recent video showing Canva integration.