Web 2.0 Presentation Tools

Of the tools listed in the course materials--Prezi, Glogster, Voicethread, Animoto, and Xtranormal--I had used only Voicethread before this week. I had heard of the other tools, but the only example I had seen was an Animoto video slideshow that the coordinator of my district's gifted program created to showcase the students' activities and projects. My first step for this week was, therefore, to explore some Web 2.0 presentation tools. On Prezi, I viewed a couple of visually impressive presentations, one about Remembrance Day that had me reaching for kleenex. I like that Prezi creations are more animated than Powerpoint presentations, and I think that the ability to zoom from one image to another would appeal to students. The animation achieved with Xtranormal would also appeal to students, but I did not want to spend $10.00 to try it out.

I decided to create an Animoto video because it appeared to be simple enough for Grade 2 and Grade 3 students to use successfully. My first attempt at creating a video went smoothly, although I had to wait quite a while for my video to save. (The site did have a note stating that some users were having difficulty creating videos and technicians were working to fix the problem.) I was impressed by the ease with which I could upload photos from my computer and drag the images to rearrange their order in the video. I also was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I could link the video to my blog and email the video to family and friends. Here is the link: September 2012.

Initially, I signed up for a "lite" account, which allowed me to create only a 30 second video. I discovered that text is not layered on the images, but must be typed on a separate blank image. As each blank image takes the place of a photo, I chose to include text only for the title of the video. In the final product, the quality of the images wasn't bad, but the images changed too quickly. Without upgrading to a "plus" account, the only way to slow down the slides was to use the spotlight feature on one or two images. (I had to delete an image to make room in the video.)

I was excited that my primary students would be able to create using Animoto, as it is so user-friendly and includes a library of pictures, video clips and songs, but I began to wonder how they would get accounts (as most do not have email addresses.) I then asked the question I should have asked at the beginning of this process: Does Animoto offer free accounts for educators? Yes! I was able to upgrade my account in a couple of minutes. I now can produce unlimited full-length videos and access more tools. Even better, I can create up to 50 accounts for students and/or colleagues.

With my upgraded account, I decided to edit my original video by adding pictures, by choosing a different song (because I didn't like the initial lyrics after 30 seconds), and by changing the speed of the image transitions. Here is a link to my upgraded version: September 2012.

Some of the images in this version are a bit blurry, perhaps because I slowed down the speed of the transitions too much. I will play around with this feature before I introduce a class to Animoto. I am looking forward to seeing how my students react to this presentation tool and to viewing their creations.