Has any one used the free version of Animoto. When I saw it immediately I thought I would be a great way for student to make up flash cards for new words. Any thoughts?
I'm interested in hearing more about Animoto. I know of it's name, but would love to hear how people are using it. I just haven't had time to investigate it myself.
I just tried to play around with it a little. You can make free videos that are 30 seconds long. The only downside is that it does take some time to make...you have to have the photos and the text you want and the computer takes some time to make the video, but I think it might be better than hand making flash cards. I can tell you more once my students start to play around with it.
So, I had my students use it a few times. They enjoyed it I think. When I asked them if they viewed the shorts later they said not really. It is pretty easy to use, but takes too much time to create for what you get, I think. However you should check it out!
Mac, As I mentioned on this discussion in April--kids like it the first time but didn't want to go back. I think that is the case with a lot of the Web 2.0 tools.
The free version only has a few slides--you might email the 'guys at Animoto" to see if they will give you a free long version. My kids liked it the first time, but it doesn't have staying power. IMO, more fluff.
You can sign up for a free education account which lets you get the long version and allows your students to sign up too- I use it in science for vocab by giving each student a different word and then have them find pictures and the definition of the word- kids seem to enjoy it
That is a great idea. You know there is a free educator's version that allows for full length videos. I could really see an animoto with vocab and images working together but the images are randomized (I think). If they are not used sequentially it may pose a small problem.