What is Animoto and What Does It Do?
Animoto is a popular Web 2.0 tool for making movies from collected images. These images can be photos or pictures located online. The images are collected and then uploaded into Animoto. Once uploaded, the series of images can be rearranged and specific ones can be deleted.
Music from the site can be selected to play in the background. In addition, depending upon the final template chosen to create the movie, text can be added. However, text can be added in only a limited way, and with some templates, text can only be added at the beginning or end of the show.
Once your presentation is completed and saved, Animoto will create a "mix," automatically making the movie for you. An email will let you know when the mix is completed. You will click on the link and be able to view your new "movie."
Within your Animoto account, you can store the movies you create and access them from there. You can also embed your Animoto "movie" into your blog, which is a good idea, as you will have easy access to it and others can write comments in your blog about your movie.
Animoto: Big Buddies with Kindergarteners
Here is an example of an Animoto created by a kindergarten teacher featuring activities in her classroom based on a Big Buddies project. The project used photographs that were uploaded to Animoto. Music was then selected. The final "mix" is the video: To learn more about the project, after viewing the video, click on the link to the teacher's blog.
I found this example on kindergarten teacher Marie Knee's blog The KinderKids' Blog
Animoto to Capture Scenery or For Geography Lesson
Here's one of the first Animoto displays I created. The photos are from a trip I took to Costa Rico. I used Animoto as a fast way to show others photos from the trip. Given the incredible geography of the country, I also realized this kind of movie could be integrated into a geography study of countries in Central America, or even a science lesson on flora or fauna. Did you know the national flower of Costa Rico is the orchid, which grows in the wild? Did you know that Costa Rico has more species of birds than the US and Canada combined though the country is no larger than the state of West Virginia? Did you know Costa Rico has no military? The government instead uses its funds for protection of the environment and to promote ecotourism. Did you know that the typography of Costa Rico is largely shaped by volcanoes, which are still active today?
As you view this Animoto, you will see I still need to edit it to remove some of the photos. That is easy to do: I just need to go back into my Animoto account, open the video, edit it, and then save it for another "mix."
Animoto to Teach an Elementary School Math Lesson on Geometry
Recently, I learned of an Animoto a 1st-2nd grade teacher created with her students to reinforce what they were learning about geometric shapes. Aviva Dunster, the teacher, offered this information on her class blog:
"This afternoon, we went on a Shape Hunt around the school. Students had to find and photograph different shapes. Here’s a short Animoto slideshow with some of the photographs. What shapes do you see in these photographs? What are some of the properties of these shapes? What other objects do you know that are the same shapes?"
Here's the Animoto the class created.
Animoto to Teach Social Studies: Commercials of Historic Figures
Here is a link to find a series of Social Studies "Commercials" on Historic Figures that students created for a class project. You'll find 8 examples using the link.
I embedded one to tempt you use the link, to see more. Notice how the teacher conveniently created a table of contents to find the examples: Social Studies "Commercials" on Historic Figures
Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.
Animoto to Teach Social Studies Lesson in 1st Grade Classroom
On her Education 584 blog, Roseanne Field has created a blog posting that includes several Animoto Videos her students created to complement the social studies curriculum. Check her blog posting. There you will also see one that two children created for their mother in celebration of her birthday.
Now that you have seen a bunch of Animoto videos, surely you have ideas for using Animoto in the classroom or for other professional needs. Share those ideas with us, posting a comment. What are some ideas you have for using Animoto in the classroom, for professional purposes, or personal enjoyment? What is the next Animoto you plan to create? Discuss your ideas for using Animoto in the comment section.
Before signing up for your own Animoto account, be sure to use the code you have for creating a free account, which is good for approximately six months.
Lots of cool ideas for using Animoto! I see myself using it as a kind of backdrop for an open house exhibit in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that this can be a great teaching tool. Students are always excited to watch a movie. I find that surrounding students with what they are learning allows a greater learning opportunity so a slide show or backdrop of what you are learning would be great for the classroom atmosphere as well as engaging for students.
ReplyDeleteI never worked with Animoto before but I have created a PhotoStory which seems quite similiar. Both require uploading photos and organizing them to create a story. You can add music and sound to each as well. I think Animoto is better because you can create an account and save all your movies in one stop rather then having them on your computer. It seems easy to create and I would use an animoto as a good introduction to a new unit.
ReplyDeleteSara, actually, there is probably more you can do with PhotoStory than Animoto. PhotoStory gives the user much more control, and narration can be easily added. Animto will allow adding music, and you can try to add narration, but Animoto as it is used now is mostly for uploading photos, inserting music, and creating a mix. You will see when you create with Animoto that it is more limited. You can also create a YouTube or another video site and easily upload Photo Story projects there, so they can be accessed anywhere on the Internet. AuthorStream is another site where PhotoStory projects can be uploaded. To use Animoto in advanced ways, there are fee-based subscriptions. The free version is somewhat limited. Others who have used both PhotoStory and Animoto, feel free to chime in.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of using Animoto to find shapes around the room then discussing the different properties the shapes have! At first I thought it would be hard to incorporate Animoto into a math class but as long as you are open-minded and creative there are ways to utilize the tool. Students could do the same type of scavenger hunt but look for lines of symmetry!
ReplyDeleteAnimoto was addicting! I did find that I wanted to write more than the allowable 30 characters. I'm looking forward to learning about PhotoStory. I sent the my class Animoto to parents...they were so thrilled. It was fun to watch and listen to my third graders look for themselves in the slide show. Now that I know how to create one, I can begin to think of was to incorporate into other subjects. My class is working on making inferences, I plan to take several pictures where they will have to make an inference. I love the math ideas. I will be using the lines of symmetry one, thanks Christina.
ReplyDeleteAnimoto seem like a really cool program to use in a classroom. Although I have not used it much, it reminds me somewhat of Windows MovieMaker, but perhaps quicker to put together during the busy school year. I like the idea of letting students take the pictures (the shape hunt) and then uploading those pictures into the presentation. The children would be so excited to see THEIR picture!
ReplyDeleteAnne Marie, I love this idea! The kids would be so excited to see their photos come to life through a video!
DeleteI'd really like to incorporate Animoto into our next exhibition night at school. We try to use technology wherever possible, but it's typical the usual--PowerPoint slides, projector images, videos, that kind of thing. Not only would it be a great addition but it would show the staff how easy it is to use.
ReplyDeleteI love Animoto! I think there are so many ways that it can be used in the classroom. You can use Animoto as a tool with subject area. I have never used PhotoStory but have used Windows MovieMaker. I agree with Anne that there are similar, however, I find Animoto to be easier to use with students and much quicker. My students really love using Animoto and their parents have provided positive feedback each time I have used it. They really are wonderful keepsakes to remember any occasion or project! The most important part of using this tool is that it is fun, easy, and produces trying amazing projects!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using Animoto to hook students into a lesson. I especially loved the Social Studies video. I think this can be used to provide a brief historical or autobiographical context when starting a new novel.
ReplyDeleteI think that Animoto would definitely help improve student attitudes in my classroom. I love what Animoto has to offere students. I think that it would excite my students about learning. This year, for the first time, for our whaling unit, we actually published a classroom book about whaling, where each student wrote 4 journal entries pretending to be on a whaling ship. We sent the final book to a publishing complany called student treasures, and I offered the parents to purchase copies of the book for a $20 cost, but let me tell you, I was so excited that I had so many parents who wanted to purchase the treasure for a special keepsake. As a mother, I would totally enjoy different keepsakes of projects that my son has completed. I think that animoto would be a great way to even put together a scrapbook of the school year for the students. We do so many different classroom cooperatie learning activities that I think that putting together an animoto recognizing all that we have done, would be such a great way to recap fourth grade!!
ReplyDeleteAnimoto is an easy tool to use, I found I was able to create my first one in a short time . As a person who loves to take pictures, I am really excited about using this on a more personal level. I also love the idea of creating a slideshow with students to reflect on what has happened throughout the year. My kindergarten students benefitted from my first classroom Animoto. I created one with pictures of the vowels so students can identify and produce the sound of each. I found this to be helpful with the fluency aspect and I can speed up the rate of the pictures to increase their fluency!
ReplyDeleteThe vowel Animoto sounds great as well as the slide show. I wish I had taken more pictures to use for a memory Animoto.
DeleteUsing Animoto to spice up social studies really caught my attention. The information which could have been stale took on a new interest for me and I could imagine using this with the info we are working on about the Monroe Doctrine. I found a rap about the doctrine that was a little corny but I may just have to give is try. The geometry Animoto although made for younger children would be a hook for middle school students too. A question that seems to keep popping up for me is, are photo release permission slips sent home for the students included in the Animoto? If so, is it a generic one that covers the whole year??
ReplyDeleteYes, parental permission needs to be obtained, and schools should have a policy and procedure in place for this to happen.
DeleteI had the same question Mary Ellen. We have a lot of filming happening at our school due to the schools newness and nature. However, we do not have a blanket policy. We must get permission for each activity each time it is done.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed these Animoto ideas. I think I will be creating some for my orientation nights and family information session. Creating a quick scrap book of the students engaging in the classroom. This will also generate questions from parents and answer some that are repeated consistently.
ReplyDeleteGreat Animoto ideas! I liked the shapes idea, especially when introducing 2-d and 3-d shapes. Can't wait to use animatos in more ways!
ReplyDeleteAnimoto is a great tool for creating videos that are set to cool music. There are a lot of features that make it much more interesting than a simple slideshow of photos. I have never used it, but it looks so cool that I am trying to think of something I can make with it!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Animoto until this week. I can't wait to try it out and the examples given have helped to deepen my interest and spark ideas how it can be used across the curriculum for my sixth graders.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in using Animoto in my classroom. Reading some more information about Animoto, and seeing some examples of how it has been used in other classrooms has given me some ideas for my own classroom. It might be a fun way to expose my students to new vocabulary words. I could find pictures of the new words so that my students could have a visual to go along with the new words. My students love pictures of themselves, so maybe I could take pictures of various activities and turn it into a video for them. Also, I could post it so their parents can also see what is happening in the classroom. Just a few thoughts, but I am excited to learn more!
ReplyDeleteOk so I actually put together my own Animoto of my family on my blog just to try it and well I am hooked!!! I love the example on here of using it as a way of presenting instead of the same old power point! Very excited to see how I can use it in my third grade class!!!
ReplyDeleteI am excited to use Animoto in my kindergarten and first grade classroom. I think it will be a great tool for teaching vocabulary especially for my ELL students. It could also be great for teaching math concepts. Now I just have to figure out how to use it!
ReplyDeleteVery easy to use! Reminds me of voicethread, except not as interactive as voicethread. I document my class throughout the year and Animoto will be an easy tool to share with my children and their parents!
ReplyDeleteSo I have already become addicted to this program. I made a quickie one for Martin Luther King just to see how the kids like it- they loved it! I also made one using a few vacation photos and a Muse song. This is such a cool way to present photos, vocabulary, whatever!
ReplyDeleteThis is way cooler than PowerPoint, but essentially gets the same information across. I loved creating mine and look forward to creating more content based Animotos in the future as this post gave me some great ideas!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of not only using an animoto for instruction, but also to show during Open House and Curriculum night. I was thinking about ways to use an animoto to teach shapes in math, and I got some good ideas from the above animoto.
ReplyDeleteLast spring I took a technology class here at USJ and there were some people who shared some videos they had created using Animoto. It was really neat to see how they came out. I would love to try one sometime!
ReplyDeleteI showed this to a friend of mine in Ohio who is also going back to school. I was explaining how Animoto is the missing link between PowerPoint and Youtube. I really like your breakdown of how to make a video, it's succinct.
ReplyDeleteAlthough technology in the classroom is being seen more and more, it really is too bad that more teachers aren't using tools like Animoto to help students learn. The fact that there are so many ways to put together information in such an easy way is great; but it's even better when students can take what they have learned and create an Animoto of their own. I love the idea of creating an Animoto to teach students about a particular country by using pictures from a vacation...I can't wait to create an Animoto on Lebanon when I get back from my trip this summer!
ReplyDeleteI've never used Animoto before this class, but from what I have seen of it so far it seems like a great classroom resource. I like that it is easy to use, for both teacher and student. It's also incredibly versatile - Animotos can work for students of any age. Thanks for this "how to" post - I'm sure I will be coming back to it! Very clear and helpful.
ReplyDeleteAnimoto is a great teaching tool for students, staff and teachers. I like to connection Erika made in her post above, "Animoto is the missing link between Power Point and You Tube". Creating an Animoto is easy and fun. There are so many academic methods that Animoto can be used for. I have enjoyed watching other classmate's Animotos to see how they incorporate an acadmeic lesson into technolgy. This is the type of technology we should educating our students about.
ReplyDeleteI really love this idea! Since I teach Social Studies, this is a perfect project for my students to work on. Right now, we are learning about Christopher Columbus, the Vikings, Marco Polo, and Amerigo Vespuccu. The students can create an Animoto that show how the Americas were really discovered. I can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to use this idea. I have already shared this with my grade level colleagues and I plan to ask my administrator if I can present this at a faculty meeting as a way to improve school climate. What a great combination of a personal touch and technology!
ReplyDeleteI never realized what a great tool for teaching Animoto was! Until now I have only seen Animotos used for "end of the year" type slide shows but now I can see the tremendous possibilities that it has in the classroom. I really like the idea of having students take pictures of shapes around the school and then making an animoto for a reinforcing shapes lesson. This same technique could be used for taking pictures of numbers, letters, words, directionality terms, etc. The more animotos I view, the more ideas I get. Can't wait to try it out!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen or heard of Animoto before. Clearly, the examples of Animotos with geography, geometry, and social studies connections have shown its usefulness across the curriculum gives me many ideas of how I can use it in my ELA class. Currently we are concluding a unit with poetry and I can see myself using it to review poetry terms and definitions. In addition, I can select different poems to display and pause to along students to identify some of the elements of poetry. We will be using Reader's Theater to close out the school year and I am still trying to figure out how I can create one to use with that. Anyone have any ideas? Lastly, I like that you can add music to it, I think it will keep my students engage and they will no longer have to listen to me sing! I cannot wait to create my first one!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have known Animoto existed for quite some time now but never took the time to explore it until last week! Long ago, on a PD day, the fourth grade teachers at my school talked about how they use it but my brain was on such extensive overload that day that I didn't take it all in. In my graduate course last week our professor showed us the site and some videos that past graduate students had made to benefit the kids in their classes. One of the Animoto videos was full of slides with vocabulary words from a new book the class was reading. All I could think was, "How simple, yet effective!" I cannot wait to explore all the Animoto possibilities and create videos for my class. I've actually already created two personal videos and LOVE the "Rustic" setting!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great tool. I was a little nervous using it in the begenning, but I'm starting to get the hange of it. I have never even heard of animoto, but the examples that I have been watching were wonderful. I'm a History major and this tool will help me create a visual timeline for any Historical event.
ReplyDelete