Advice For Animoto

If you haven't heard by now, Animoto is one of the best photo/video mashup tools out there. (You can read some past posts I've done on it here.) In a nutshell, users can upload photos and videos, select some music to set the mood and create some of the most professional (and really cool looking) videos out there.

Here is one I did for the Inauguration




A while back I asked my PLN what advice they would give to new Animoto users. Here is what they said:


What great tips! Remember, Animoto is free for Educators. Which means it will be free for your students to use. So head over there, sign up and get those creative juices flowing!

"Best of" Edition: Great Examples of Animoto

Animoto is not new. It's been available for educators to use for years, and Evan wrote a blog post on Animoto back in 2008. So although I'll mention Animoto and how fantastic it is, and how it has so many uses in your classroom, I want this blog post to be about showcasing some fabulous teachers and how they've used Animoto. In this post I'm giving a little pat on the back to some folks who deserve it, and perhaps provide a little inspiration to anyone out there considering using Animoto.

I've been working with several elementary schools this year, and at many of the schools we've covered Animoto as one of our professional development sessions. These are just a few of the really impressive Animoto videos created by teachers at some of the schools I work with.

• Observing Ocean Life by Ms. Johnson - what a great way to showcase student work.
• Fifth Grade Field Trip by Mr. Plane - field trip video embedded in his blog is a unique way for students to reflect on the trip they just took or to prep the next group of students (check out the student comments on the blog).
• Super Snowpeople by Ms. Larson - what better way to excite a kindergarten class studying snowmen than to show a quick video.
• Winter Party 2009 by Ms. Edwards - this video is a great way to share and preserve the experience with parents and community.
• 2009-2010 Speas Artwork by Ms. Laney- another great way to showcase student artwork for all to see.
• Eshlemania at Sciworks by Ms. Eshleman - What student wouldn't be excited about going to Sciworks after seeing this video clip?

It's great to see some of the fantastic ways teachers use technology to support learning and the ways Animoto can be used in the classroom.