How to Use Animation for Student Projects and Engaging Lessons

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Animation Comes in Many Forms

Using animation tools can help to add engagement, creativity and technological knowledge for students . Animations can also add excitement to your lessons. With plenty of applications for animation, the days of static imagery and boring presentations are long gone. Here are some of the possibilities.

Create looping Gifs 
ABCya Animate or Giphy can be used to make looping animations called gifs. Students could show a process, change over time or movement through a gif. 

 With ABCya Animate, students can create scenes that will play in a short animated video.  This site seems most appropriate for elementary and middle school students, however, when I showed this recently to some high school students, they enjoyed creating gifs and with the ability to add your own images this site becomes more attractive. 

Giphy can be used to upload a series of images to turn into a gif or a paste in the url of a YouTube video and select a portion to turn into a gif.


via GIPHY
Comic Strip Animation
Sometimes an appropriate way to show learning or creativity is through a comic strip. With the growing popularity of graphic novels and of animated films, comic strips are a popular choice for student creation.

 MakeBeliefsComix is a simple comic strip creator that has a very low learning curve. No account is needed to use this site and the options for sharing include email, print or save image as a png (image file). Add backgrounds, characters, thought bubbles and objects easily. Use the selection window to customize the look of each item being added. Here are 25 ways to use Make Beliefs Comix in the classroom.


StoryboardThat is one of the most advanced free comic strip creators out there. With the ability to edit and customize every frame and object in the comic, students will be able to create very detailed and realistic comics.



3D Animation
With the advancements in 3D printing and virtual reality and 3D animation in movies, this technology is of interest to most students and educators. Uses in the classroom might include creating 3D models, designing home decor or jewelry, prototyping a product, creating unique objects, character creation for games or displaying objects for viewing.

TinkerCad is a free online 3D design tool where the user can add or import shapes, adjust those shapes to exact dimensions, rotations or levels, and combine shapes to build models, characters or objects. Download as a stl file for 3D printing on a 3D printer.

 SketchFab is a place to create, upload, view and share your 3D creations online. Import a stl file (stl is a file for 3D viewing and printing), perhaps from TinkerCad, and enjoy the ability to edit your creation. Use the SketchFab app on your phone to view your creation in VR mode.




Animation Videos
The days of boring presentations and still imagery are going away. With the ability to create animated catchy videos and avatars, today's students can delve into exciting new options.

 Powtoon is free, easy to use and helps to create clever and entertaining videos and presentations. With ready-made templates, a simple click and drag interface, a quick voiceover tool and easy animations, Powtoon is a great choice for student and teacher creation. 
Voki is a great free tool for creating an animated avatar with some features available with a premium account.  Add a computer generated voice or your own voice to send a spoken message to your audience. Create avatars that resemble a real person, characters from a story, historical figures, famous people, etc.  
click here
I hope this blog post inspires you and your students to give animation a try. I love all of the possibilities and options.

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