I used this video to help me introduce the topics my class were going to cover next regarding some recording software. The first time I saw this type of animation program was a video used in my MLT class. This program, known as xtranormal, was very easy to use and the students seemed to really enjoy it. They loved the class humor that was incorporated into the short comic, and also really responded to the video and showed a lot of interest in learning that program as well. I do have an account with this site and discovered that they have educator accounts that are free and also come with full functionality.
The new tool I decided to start using was another animation program which is called goanimate. The reason I wanted to find and learn another animation program was so I could keep this type of demonstration, or teaching tool fresh and not wear out its welcome with the students. This too was very easy to use navigate and use and it did not take long at all to make a short comic. I tried to experiment at first on my own before I found many tutorials online on YouTube that were very useful and informative. The two screen shots at the top are from when i was animating a character on stage. Goanimate also has an educator account, however they do respond to you mentioning that they are in high demand and that you should not expect to hear back from until at least a couple of days.
The fact that so many students still watch cartoons that have various age audiences shows me that this can a valuable class tool. This tool could help focus the student on what is being taught simply because they can relate to what is seen in class to what they like to watch at home or online.
Again, this is just for your what it's worth department.
Thank you, Marc for investigating this one. I am very interested in using animation to teach and develop my own characters. I will be checking this one out! Hey, what do you think of a cartoon where there is a main character that has tall hair who gives "deep thoughts," like the Dali Lama, and these cartoon characters climb to the top to hear what he has to say? Pretty cool, huh?
ReplyDeleteThese sound and look like great tools. I have a couple of short stories that could work well with this type of program. I have friends who teach in K-12 that would love to be able to turn their lessons into animated features. I will definitely have to pass this info on to them.
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