Well, Week 5, hey? We’ve come to the end of the journey that is “Greg’s Excellent Technological Adventure”. And the final resting place for this subject is animation. During this last class, Greg introduced us to many fun websites that primary students can use to animate and be creative.
The Victorian Educational Learning Standards (VELS) writes the following about design, creativity and technology:
“Students develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours related to investigating
and designing using appropriate planning processes and design briefs;
creating and developing ideas, applying information, and seeking and
testing innovative alternatives; producing, including the selection and safe
use of appropriate tools, equipment, materials and/or processes to meet the
requirements of design briefs; analysing and evaluating both processes and
products including, where relevant, any broader environmental, social, cultural
and economic factors.”
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/dct/downloads.html
Wow! This seems like a lot to achieve within the space of one year with a class. To design, create, produce, evaluate. It is a lot, but I’m glad that the VELS recognises the importance of such activities. These skills are interdisciplinary and can be applied in any area. These are the skills that are needed in the future.
Also, it is important for teachers to realise that design is very important and should not be overshadowed by creating. Without design creativity can be ineffective. “Design is a vital step in transforming ideas into creative, practical and commercial realities by optimising the value of products and systems.”
www.zimmertwins.com (ZimmerTwins)
The zimmer twins is a website made for kids up to the age of 17 to make simple animations. The site makes it very simple in a number of ways:
-There are only three characters (Edgar, Eva and 13)
-There are template responses and actions
-There are template locations.
I had a go at making a movie. At first I was daunted by the amount of options I had to choose from. Eventually, I became accustomed to the easy, intuitive nature of the web site, and I had a lot of fun. I especially like how easy it is to write text into the speech bubbles. You simple click and type, that’s it!
The amazing thing about this program is that it is all done online. One criticism would be that sometimes it is difficult to have all characters doing the same thing. Also, when one character is talking, you can’t have other characters on screen.
Despite slight criticisms, the zimmer twins website is a really great tool to help students learn about story structure. Instead of learning the abstract knowledge of story structure, students have the ability to experiment with this program. If I was using this in a classroom, I would encourage students to watch and discuss each of their animations. We would use this program multiple times to see how our story making develops. Also, students can watch other animations from students all around the world. Fantastic!!!
This website was designed by the wildlife conservation society. The purpose, apart from letting kids enjoy themselves, is to educate kids about the environment around us.
When you choose animal parts, the toggle tells you what part of which animal. It also makes the sound that the animal makes. Then, when you are finished combining animal parts with human parts, you are informed about each body part and their qualities. For example, I chose Giant tree frog arms. I was informed that “your sticky fingers are actually giant tree frog toe pads. They help you cling to trees and climb vertically anywhere you want. My name was Chris, the Ibex-ossa-wal-fro-torto-crocodile.
I think I would use this site in schools, definitely. I don’t think it is a really long-term web site. However it could be used in conjunction with a project on animals, or wildlife, or the zoo. It is a creative way to look at animals. However, because it is very easy to add details to the body, I can imagine kids wasting a lot of time just tinkering with different animal parts.
www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache
This website is called “Roller Mache” and it has been produced and designed by the ABC, specifically for education. It is a nice play on words, and I think it is alluding to the rolling of a camera and the mache of a figurine. There are four sections: Inspire, Plan, Create and Gallery.
In the Create Section: There is an online tutorial about how animation is made. It is very clear and simple. There are simple video demonstrations about the particular techniques of animation.
Some of the Inspiration videos about characters, planning etc are definitely aimed at an older audience. I would surprised if year 5s and 6s would really benefit from these videos. They are probably more interesting for teachers.
The site also takes the viewer through the planning stage. This includes get rolling, story telling, story boarding, character development and props and sets. There are in depth tools to help each student along the way.
The ABC have made a great website, which will be a valuable resource in many classrooms. It probably caters for teachers of any year level, to students from grade 5 up to year 12. If I was to use this in the primary school, I would probably use the information and present it in a much simpler way, because I think the site is too complex for younger kids.
http://www.reasonablyclever.com/?page_id=29
I found the Reasonable clever website rather boring. The whole idea was to make your own lego self. You build your own character and personality by choosing each part of the body and manipulating it. While this may seem fun to some, I just could see how I would make this a project in class. I could imagine kids having fun with it at school. I think lego should be made in the tangible form, not electronic form. I may have missed something in the class, but what is the point?
Ziptales is an Australian website designed for schools. There is a subscription of $350 - $600 depending on the size of the school. The website contains hundreds of different stories online, along with comprehension exercises and activities. One of the great things is that is marks the student while they are online. There are also offers homework sheets for students to do.
While I couldn’t log in, the website seemed like it was doing good things. I’m not sure if I would use it. I think I would have to demo it before I decided to use it with the kids. I’m always wary of websites like these, because students tend to interact with a screen and not with a person. If I was to use this, it would be rarely.
DVolver is similar to the zimmertwins website, it is a site designed to help you make short animations. You first choose a location, then characters, then you write their dialogue. Following this you choose the credits and their design. The story has no beginning and no end. Compared to the zimmertwins, this website is more of a gimmick. It really doesn’t give you a lot of freedom. You aren’t able to choose what happens to the characters, they simply talk and then its over. Although I wouldn’t use it very often, it could be used as the beginning of a project.
Sketch swap is a very simply and interesting web site. Basically, you are presented with a blank white area to draw on. You draw your picture. Then you submit it. Once submitted, you receive a random drawing (that is displayed in real-time) from another person. They may be in another country, or right around the corner from you.
I like this program for its simplicity. In someways it is a way of communicating that is completely new and unique. Students are able to express themselves and it is automatically sent to somebody else who will either like or dislike their drawing. Amazing! Its just so simple! I also like the way you see the recipient’s drawing being drawn in real-time. To see how someone makes their art is very educational. Students will gain a lot from analysing someone else’s art. It will also spark many discussions about where your art goes: And who sees it? And did they like it or not?
www.xtranormal.com/watchmovies
Xtra normal is another website that can be used to tell stories through animation.
Microsoft Photostory
Unable to download, unfortunately, due to having a Mac. I’m quite upset that there is no equivalent. However, Dennis Grice (http://dgrice.blogspot.com/2008/02/imovie-08-photostory-for-mac.html) may have a solution:
“For those of you who have been wanting a Mac solution to the PhotoStory dilemma, here’s something that might just work. It’s iMovie ‘08. This latest version of iMovie has drawn numerous bad reviews, mostly due to the fact that it is radically different from it’s previous version. While I’m not going to argue which is better, please allow me to present iMovie 08 as an alternative to PhotoStory. Here is an example of how to create a simple digital riddle using iMovie 08. I’ve written the steps in much the same way that similar project would be created using Photostory.”
iMovie
I have used imovie (version 8) and it can do similar things. Actually, in my opinion, imovie is supreme (beware I am a mac elitist), mainly because you can do more animation that is simple to use.
You can also film yourself very easily by the click of a button:
By now, you’ve probably gathered that I am a mac enthusiast. And yes, you are right. I am utterly smitten with my purchase of a macbook pro. I’ve now had it for a year. I have used it for photoshop, final cut pro, soundtrack pro and various other visual programs. In my opinion, pcs are a dime a dozen; they are great for programming and gaming, but they just can’t compete with visual and sound media. For students, macs allow you to navigate easily through visual and audio media.
Garage Band
One thing that has been neglected during this blog experience is sound editing. There has been a lot of information about visual media, but sound has missed the boat. I think that one of the most important forms of communication is through music. Therefore, it is only fair that children have the chance to learn and experiment with sound and music making. Also, they can add it to their movies as soundtracks. A great program for music-making is Garage Band (another mac product). Garage band allows you to record from the computer or an external input and create multiple tracks. It is very user friendly and intuitive.
Well, I have come to the end of my five-week journey. I have now got a vast amount of resources at my disposal for the purpose of helping students use technology in creative ways. I think the biggest challenge in the classroom will be to actually use each technology in a meaningful way. Although these technologies are very advanced, they are only as advanced as the person using them. I will endeavor to be vigilant with the students in my future class, making sure that they can get the full benefit from these tools.
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