I've been exploring the use of Animoto videos for my class and am having a difficult time narrowing in my focus. I love the idea of using it to teach/reinforce vocabulary across content areas. I also like the idea of using Animoto to introduce new concepts to my class.
Some of the samples I have been looking at are student created to teach other students new learning. Since I teach all content area classes with a small group, I have switched my next social studies unit to researching (much earlier in the year than planned). I'd like my students to research parts of our country that are of interested to them and complete the research necessary to then create an Animoto to share with the class. My students struggle with sharing their new learning with the class in the form of presenting, but they also strongly dislike writing. For a content area class such as social studies, I find that this may be a way to allow the students in my group to learn information of higher interest to them as individuals, and then share with the class for whole group learning. I'm still in the planning stages, but am excited to get started!
Grade 4 student work samples have been posted in Rosina's blog. If her 4th graders can complete these so well based on a chosen endangered animal, my students will definitely be able to complete this for social studies!
How are you using Animoto in your classroom?
Thanks! My special education students LOVED the project as well. In fact their's were some of the best ones. It was challenging fitting text into the slides because it only allows so many characters for each slide. I also wish that I told them all to make the slides as slow as possible because they were disappointed with how fast they moved. Have a plan for photos. Since your kids are older they can learn how to download and upload photos (that was too much for my group). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou can do one on classroom routines or rules and take pictures of students demonstrating expectations. It's great for the beginning of the year.
I did like the idea of the vocabulary Animoto that she showed us. However, thinking of my group of students, the video goes way too fast for them to read the word and definition and process it. Yes, they would be totally engaged, but I don't think they would fully understand the content. I have decided to take a different route and introduce multiplication arrays to my 3rd graders. It's something very simple, but I hope it would give them an understanding of what an array is and how to use arrays to solve multiplication facts. We will see, I guess!
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