Animoto
Animoto is an
online tool that is capable of making customized video slide shows. This tool is more geared toward older students
perhaps the middle school to high school age.
For free you are able to make 30 seconds of video but there is an
Education version that you can add up to 50 students which is also free. There
are limitations such as only being able to have one song per slide show and the
amount of text you are able to use is limited.
A positive is that you can upload your own images and music. For the
classroom a teacher can make a short video slide show to present what is going
to be done in class that day or present the homework assignments for the week
and show it before class starts. The students would be more likely to remember
homework assignments if they were presented in a more entertaining and creative
way. Also students would be more likely to be engaged in the topics that will
be discussed in class if they had a few minutes to think about them and the aesthetic
qualities of a video presentation would capture their interest even more. Also
a High School English teacher could assign a project where students pick an
event in history that had an impact on literature and the students would make a
video slide show about an event of their choice. If students create a video and
do the research on a topic on their own they will be more personally connected to
the material and have a better understanding as opposed to simply taking notes.
Toon Doo
Toon Doo is a comic
creating website that is free but offers updated versions that cost money.
There is a Classroom version that charges 10 cents per student per month that
gives privacy so only the students and the teacher can see the projects created
for class. Toon Doo is easy to use for any age and can engage students of
various grade levels. It allows students to be creative even if they do not
posses artistic talent. Toon Doo also allows you to upload your own images. A
teacher can create a comic to present a concept as an instructional graphic
such as the water cycle for an elementary science class or even the government
system in an elementary social studies class. The comic instructional graphics
will appeal to visual learners and teachers can incorporate jokes and puns to
make learning more fun. A high school
social studies teacher could assign a project for students to create their own
political cartoon. This will allow the students to understand key points of
symbolism involved in political satire since they are creating it on their own.
Even the school news paper can use this tool to make more professional looking
comics to put in the news paper that will grab more attention.
Glogster
Glogster is an
online poster creation website. Students can present information in a fun and
creative way without the mess of scissors and glue. Glogster is user friendly and any grade level
can use it with ease. The standard version is free but there is and education
version that is $2 per account with offers better security and privacy. Glogster
reinvents the poster by giving the option to add links, audio and video to the
poster for a multi- media experience. There are some negative aspects of this
tool such as the inability to search for specific items, and the limited number
of graphics but you can upload your own.
A teacher can assign a project to make a poster about anything for example
a High School English teacher could have students make a biographical
presentation about a specific author or an elementary school teacher could have
students create a poster about their favorite animal and its habitat. Glogster
can engage the technology age of kids and help them better understand the
material because they created their own presentation about it without making a
mess. A teacher could also make a poster to teach a concept instead of a power
point to change things up a bit and better engage the class. For example a high
school social studies teacher could teach about Pearl Harbor Day using the
poster by adding pictures key points and dates videos and links to other
sources thus creating a different multimedia lecturing experience to capture students’
attention.
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