Animoto in My Classroom

Before taking DED 318, I had never heard of the program/site Animoto. Now all I can say is, “I LOVE ANIMOTO!” What a wonderful program to use with students and for students! In considering how it can be used in the classroom, I can think of so many different, and highly effective ways. What first comes to mind is using it as a way to engage students, primarily at the beginning of a lesson. It would be so much fun to create a video to introduce a new lesson or to help link students’ prior knowledge to the knowledge that will be gained. Students always love watching videos, and using an Animoto video in the form of instruction would be such a unique and clever way to motivate students and to prepare them for learning. I can also imagine students using Animoto to create group projects. It would be a wonderful way to represent their thoughts, ideas and even opinions as a form of media to then share with the rest of the class. When I created videos using Animoto in DED 318, I was amazed at how simple it is to use the program. Uploading photos and choosing a song took only a few minutes, and the program itself was quick in producing the final video. The finished product is something to be proud of, and is something that can be saved for use again in the future. I find so many positive aspects related to Animoto, and I cannot wait to begin creating videos in my future classroom!