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Tech Buffs An Instructional Technology Newsletter for the Herds@Florence

the next Spielberg....

"Shooting and sharing videos has never been so easy, with a wide selection of mobile apps available to capture, edit and distribute your footage. Some are squeezed-down smartphone versions of powerful, desktop, video-editing software, while others are inventive new tools for the Instagram generation of social sharers. There are specialist video-making apps for special effects, stop-motion and even virtual reality film-making, and novelty apps to raise a smile with face swapping or retro filters."~ The Guardian. Here are just a few for you and your students to give a whirl.

Animoto Grades 5-12

You and your students can create stunning video slideshows using Animoto. Animoto offers educators a FREE year subscription for a Pro account for you and your students. Just fill out the form linked below. Animoto videos can be produced on either a desktop or tablet.

1. Sign up for Animoto. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for an Animoto account at animoto.com. Click the blue GET STARTED button, and enter your name, email, and password. You can also sign up using our mobile iOS and Android apps.

2. Fill out an application. The application is very short — you’ll just be giving your name and a few details about where and what you teach to help us verify that you’re an educator. After you’re accepted, you’ll get an email confirmation, along with an educator code you can use to create up to 50 free student accounts using their Google account-yay no extra passwords!

Stop Motion Studio Grades 2-12

screen shot from Stop Motion Studio

What is Stop Motion Animation? Stop motion animation (also called stop frame animation) is animation that is captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement. The basic process of animation involves taking a photograph of your objects or characters, moving them slightly, and taking another photograph. When you play back the images consecutively, the objects or characters appear to move on their own. Students can use this to present the process for just about anything. Or you can allow them to unleash their creativity and use figures to create a story to share with you and their peers.

I-Movie grades 8-12

"Turn your videos into movie magic"

If you're looking to edit a video recorded on an Apple device, Apple's own I-Movie is one the most accessible options. It's not simple enough for the younger learners but secondary students can definitely play around and edit without much help. Sharing is made easy, sound effects can be added as well as filters, intros, and credits

All of these tools along with countless others allow you to capture the student's voice and creativity in a way that can be shared & viewed over and over again with teachers, students & parents. Most students are familiar with the tools and recording their thoughts digitally, why not use that digitally-native process to capture their creativity? Who knows you might be leading the path for the next Spielberg....

~Marisa Mejia, your Instructional Technology Specialist. Thanks for the read! Please reach out anytime if you would like some help or just a friendly face to help implement these instructional tools into your classroom.

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