I had an email from Chris Thomson who is @electricchalk on twitter who wanted to post a comment on the blog but was blocked by his proxy. He has sent this to me by email and I thought I would post it up without editing.
I totally agree with you, Animoto in itself doesn’t have vast educational potential unless the work surrounding it is purposeful.
I supported some work with a drama teacher in a school in Sheffield where they were doing a project on bullying. The students worked in teams to devise and script a story and then took pictures of themselves acting it out. They then compiled an Animoto out of their images, choosing appropriate music and adding text. The teacher led them through a peer review process, giving and receiving feedback to each other which led to them re-editing their Animoto and refining it. They were then encouraged to do some personal reflection on how the process had gone and what they learnt about storytelling as a result.
Use of Animoto was incidental (it could have been any number of pieces of software) but the fact that it was an engaging tool meant that the students were motivated to complete the task and had a certain amount of pride in what they achieved.
I think you identify a real risk that people can get carried away with the shiny!
CommentsOne Response to “Animoto Review: Chris Thomson’s perspective”
Speak Your MindTell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!