Animoto is a web based video creation tool. Students can use the free version to create short videos of their learning. Now that I have been home during the day with my three young boys, we have been spending Fridays creating Animoto videos of our week. The boys are learning to upload our photos to Google Drive and link our free Animoto account to it for easy transfer of photos and videos. The drag and drop feature is easy enough for my eight and ten year old children to master. We use a pre-made template that lets that have some creativity as well, including changing the music, some transitions, and adding captions.
Now that Tik-Tok is all of the rage with both students and adults, tackling video creation as a way for students to illustrate learning in the classroom is a no-brainer. There are great built-in templates for students to choose from. From there they can customize with color and images. This type of platform does include some royalty free images and music, but more importantly, introducing Animoto as an option for inquiry projects serves as a gateway for lessons on how to use other school provided databases of royalty free music and photos. Our school subscribes to both Britannica Images and Soundzabound- a music/sound effect database. My own children are having fun navigating these platforms and getting comfortable with content. Though Animoto lacks enough pizzaz for students to get super creative, it’s a great start for beginners and for students who would be tempted to get more caught up in the creation as opposed to concern for content.
A. Charland LIS 568 