Have you ever wondered what to do with all of those pictures on your computer? If so, there is an online program for you, and its called Animoto. I have used this program for a number of projects and they are always quick and easy to make. The first project was for a Valentine's card for my wife which went over very well! I also created a military video of my career for a veterans event I was involved in (See below).
Animoto was founded in August 2006 by Jason Hsiao, Brad Jefferson, Steve Clifton and Tom Clifton because of the poor video quality found on the internet (Pattison, 2008). Animoto’s uses a patented Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology which allows users to turn photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows. The CAI technology cannot be found on other websites sponsoring video input (Summers, 2013). Animoto has also launched Facebook and iPhone apps, allowing users to create videos using pictures on their mobile phone. In 2008 Animoto had nearly 750,000 people sign up in three days. At the peak, almost 25,000 people tried Animoto in a single hour. There are now over 8 million people and business that use Animoto to make videos.
Animoto was founded in August 2006 by Jason Hsiao, Brad Jefferson, Steve Clifton and Tom Clifton because of the poor video quality found on the internet (Pattison, 2008). Animoto’s uses a patented Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology which allows users to turn photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows. The CAI technology cannot be found on other websites sponsoring video input (Summers, 2013). Animoto has also launched Facebook and iPhone apps, allowing users to create videos using pictures on their mobile phone. In 2008 Animoto had nearly 750,000 people sign up in three days. At the peak, almost 25,000 people tried Animoto in a single hour. There are now over 8 million people and business that use Animoto to make videos.
How does Animoto work?
1. Sign up at the Animoto eduction page. This is the free education account and there are so many more resources than the trial account.
1. Sign up at the Animoto eduction page. This is the free education account and there are so many more resources than the trial account.
4. You and your student's videos will be completely private as long as they do not share the URL. The only way someone can find your students work is if they have the video specific URL website or if the student videos are posted on another website. See security information here.
After you’ve created your first Animoto video, there are dozens of ways to share it. Take a look at some of the many ways you can use your Animoto video once it’s ready.
After you’ve created your first Animoto video, there are dozens of ways to share it. Take a look at some of the many ways you can use your Animoto video once it’s ready.
How can Animoto help?
1. Engage Students: At the beginning of a lesson teachers can use Animoto and include a video, image, quote, or another link to prior knowledge in your topic for students to respond to. Students can also make a video about themselves at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves to the class using their own pictures from home. Once teachers get their free account, your students can get free accounts as well, which are linked to the teacher's account.
2. Explore: Students explore a topic through a collection of resources (articles, videos, infographics, text excerpts, etc.) contained in an Animoto film clip.
3. Apply and Share: Create an assignment for students to apply what they learn by using Animoto to create, collaborate, and/or connect beyond the classroom. View student work and provide feedback, and/or include a section for students to share work. Here is a cheat sheet for the best ways to use video in class.
4. Reflect: Give students an opportunity for digital design process reflection on their learning journey using Animoto to guide students along their learning progression and set new goals. See YOUTUBE video below on how you can create and use Animoto in your classroom.
What do Teachers say?
One teacher says that "Animoto lets you quickly and easily combine text, images, and videos into beautiful videos. The videos really do look good. Your students will be impressed with what they can create. My friend’s 6 grade wrote short stories for their kindergarten learning buddies. They then created promo commercials for their short stories as a media literacy assignment."
Another teacher said it was really easy, "Within 10 minutes of messing around, my students were able to create a quick video that included images, videos, and their own custom text message with the default theme music playing in the background. After another five minutes, they figured out how to upload their own images, videos, and background music."
Some things teachers say Animoto cant do. It won't let teachers or students express their ideas in a complex way. For teachers trying to engage students in digital storytelling, Animoto might not be the best tool; creating a slide show is simple and straightforward, but the ease of use means that you automate a lot of the creative process and don't have much editorial control. The main problem is that you can't adjust transitions; the site syncs them to the rhythm of the song, which is fine for a vacation slide show but has limited potential in the classroom. Also, you can't add your own voice narration, so the emotional resonance of digital storytelling gets lost.
One of the last reviews I looked at the teacher stated that there is limitations in the size of the presentation, the number of characters you can write for a slide and the limited stock backgrounds and music. She stated that your best bet for Animoto is to draw on its strengths and recognize its limitations. “For an art project or maybe a book report, it could be useful and engaging. It's certainly fun to create slideshows and satisfying to watch the finished presentations. Also, it's a bit of a primer on video-editing software. Choices are limited, which makes the site easy to use, but it also means the teaching potential is limited. If you're using a lot of video in the classroom, you might be interested in our teaching tips and resources here: Get Students Thinking Critically About Video.” See how to take your classroom video below!
One of the last reviews I looked at the teacher stated that there is limitations in the size of the presentation, the number of characters you can write for a slide and the limited stock backgrounds and music. She stated that your best bet for Animoto is to draw on its strengths and recognize its limitations. “For an art project or maybe a book report, it could be useful and engaging. It's certainly fun to create slideshows and satisfying to watch the finished presentations. Also, it's a bit of a primer on video-editing software. Choices are limited, which makes the site easy to use, but it also means the teaching potential is limited. If you're using a lot of video in the classroom, you might be interested in our teaching tips and resources here: Get Students Thinking Critically About Video.” See how to take your classroom video below!
Summary
Animoto has many beneficial uses not only in the classroom but personally for individuals establishing a digital footprint. Because Animoto crosses so many platforms, and so easy to use it is one of the best ways I have found to make brief videos using small video clips and photos on my iPhone. For longer and more technical videos I would certainly use another video maker.
For teachers, I can see this process taking a little while to set up their classes to use Animoto. From what I have read, you have to create an account for yourself, and then google alias accounts for your students (basically your Gmail account + alias for each student, which routes the emails to you). Once you've done that your students are able to log-in and use this product for free. Other than the process, and the length of the videos, this would be a useful tool. Students can make some great videos using this resource. I found Flipgrid to be much easier to use as a class resource and the teacher can "Batch set up" the class.
References
Animoto (2018). From Downloading to Sharing: 21 Creative Ways to Use Your Animoto Video. Retrieved from https://animoto.com/blog/news/downloading-sharing-ways-use-video/
Fitzgerald, M. (2008). Cloud computing: So you don't have to stand still. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/technology/25proto.html?_r=0
Pattison, K. (2008). Animoto: The no-infrastructure startup. Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/991347/animoto-no-infrastructure-startup
Summers, N. (2013). Animoto celebrates its fifth birthday with 6 million registered users and new ‘I Love NY’ video style. The Next Web. Retrieved from https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/14/animoto-celebrates-its-fifth-birthday-with-six-million-users-and-new-i-love-ny-video-style/ 
Wow! I love this video, Mark! The soundtrack was awesome and so perfect. This is great!
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