Classrooms embrace Animoto

I discovered Animoto about a month back and was impressed by how little video editing knowledge it requires on the part of the user and how stunning the produced videos looked. I signed up for the regular free version (which lets me create short videos like this one here) and then realized that Animoto is also available in an education version (which gives free access to the full set of Animoto features) and naturally I wanted to know how educators are using it in the classroom. So here goes…

Michael L Walker, Secondary Technology Integrationist, District Media and Technology Services at Edina Public Schools, MN, tells me they used the regular version of Animoto for an interdisciplinary 7th project they already completed but will probably use the education version in the future. The project? “The students used Animoto as part of a project where they had to “pitch” a movie idea about a “Dynamic Person”. Students had to research the person and explain why that person should be the subject of a movie. Animoto was used to create a 30 sec. trailer for the movie. The teachers played the part of Movie Studio executives and chose the best presentations to move forward. Students seemed to enjoy it. Those that also included quotes from the famous person had a more effective video.” Michael says that PowerPoint and PhotoStory were previously used for projects but Animoto gave them the opportunity to “incorporate some Web 2.0 tools and reach a more authentic audience.” Michael also considers the anytime/anywhere access to Animoto a huge bonus. “With PhotoStory, it had to be done at school.”

Dianne Krause, an Instructional Technology Specialist in the Wissahickon School District, PA, does something a little bit different. Using the education version, she teaches teachers how to use it. “They primarily use it as a resource for the students to use for multimedia sites and presentations. Some use it in instruction, but it is mostly for the students to use as a different means of presenting.” In this respect, she says Animoto has somewhat replaced Power Point, iMovie, making posters etc. Dianne says the student reactions have been positive. “They are pleased with their final projects. It allows the students to express themselves in visual and auditory ways that haven’t been possibly before without the knowledge of video editing software. By taking care of all the transitions and animations, it allows students to put together really cool presentations in no time. And, they can focus on the selection of images and words to really tell a story or explore a concept.”

Heidi Van Riper, a Computer Resource Specialist at a Technical and Career School in Virginia Beach, VA, has just started using Animoto. She is also using the education version and right now the students at her school are creating movies to highlight their programs. She says: “the first class we tried it in was our TV Production class-11th grade. They used it to create a highlight show.” Heidi says Animoto hasn’t replaced any other tools, so it is more of an add-on in the classroom. “The students liked how easy it was to use, and they especially liked the way Animoto used the music and images to customize the show. They got the concept quickly. It is so versatile. I can see using it in every classroom, at every level. It is something the teachers can use and the students can use. It is an empowering tool that has very few limitations as far as implementation goes.”

Clay Reisler, another educator from Wisconsin and a prolific blogger (check out his Recess Duty blog chock full of educational websites) used Animoto with his 7th graders “to complete a United States History project. We gathered 10 digital documents from www.digitalvaults.org and used Animoto to produce a video.” Clay says Animoto replaced Windows Movie Maker in his classroom. “Movie Maker was a burden in the technical aspect of creating a movie. In using Animoto, the video could be manipulated in a certain way, but the very technical aspects were completed by Animoto.” He says the students were very eager to work with Animoto, especially when they found out they could download the videos to their iPods. “In fact, after one day of intro information, two students went to the site over the weekend and created family videos.” Clay says the biggest advantages of using Animoto are its excellent user interface, the digital nature of the medium, the editing options (e.g. The opportunity to remix the video if the one produced is not something a person likes) and the producing options offered (download to computer, email, place on iPod, share to YouTube, post/embed in online…).

Clay was generous enough to share the below video produced using Animoto. Enjoy it and please share your story about how you are using Animoto (be it professional, educational or personal).

Thank you for reading.