Ready to create an animation that will engage viewers? You may want to take advantage of a new tool from Adobe that makes voice-based animations easy. Let’s explore this new digital tool from Adobe.

First, though, let’s take a quick look at how animations can engage K-12 students. Engagement, while the final destination for learners, ensures you capture student attention.

Flipping Interest Levels

Students may not find the content interesting. Without an engaging story, anecdote, video, or movement-based activity, students ask, “Why?”

Learning something new is often exciting for the learner. Novel experiences cause a rush of dopamine. This not only makes learning seem exciting, but also makes you want to repeat the experience.  (source)

To hook student learners into a dopamine stream, you want an engaging activity. Animation can be that activity. Some of the ways animation works best for K-12 students include:

• Ensuring a clear understanding of abstract ideas
• Use of short, attention-grabbing animations to cover specific, relevant content
• Make learning interactive and participatory
• Enable experiential learning

Whilethere are more benefits, this short list demonstrates the value. Let’s take a look at how the free, Adobe Express tool can help.

Introducing Animate Your Voice

This tool makes it easy to:

Make an animated character from your own voice recording using Adobe Express.

There are only three simple steps:

• Choose a character from those available.
• Upload your audio file or record your dialogue.
• Preview the audio and animation, making changes to the character or background as you see fit.
• Save or share your animation with others.

Let’s take a look at each of these steps in turn. Ready? Let’s go.

Step 1: Choose a Character

As you can see from the image above, there are ample choices of characters. Choose from any of those available, and see them appear center screen.

For fun, I chose a character resembling me and decided to upload the audio I recorded. That’s an option available in addition to recording your audio via the website.

It was the beginning of a free story I found atKids Love To Know. The story is that of “Captain Silverhook’s Symbol of Strength” (PDF). You can save it to your device or read it online for free.

Here’s a little information about it:

Captain Silverhook’s Symbol of Strength is a 600-word short  story. It is suitable for children of all ages. Kids in second grade or higher may be able to read the story on their own. The story is about a pirate  with a problem to solve. Captain Silverhook must replace his ship’s destroyed, nautical figurehead. That’s the shape carved on the front of his ship. He must  come up with a new design before he loses the respect of the other  pirates.

Using Audacity, a free open-source audio editor. I read the first paragraph of the story with a little flair:

Then, I uploaded the audio file for processing to Adobe Express’ Animate Your Voice site:

You can see the finished product below:

Step 2: Preview the Animation

You can make changes to the animation you’ve recorded, cropping the audio as needed. It’s not too difficult, and you can bring this process to a close if you’ve done your editing in Audacity or a similar tool, which I recommend.

Step 3: Save or Share Your Animation with Others

Click the Download button, and if you aren’t logged in with your free account, you will need to create an account. The process is easy if you use Google Authentication (which I did). Adobe offers access to other authentication schemes, so creating an account isn’t hard.

To share your animation, you will save an MP4 video formatted version. You can watch my creation below:

Once you’re done saving video to your device, Adobe will prompt you to buy their $54.99 Creative Cloud All Apps plan which includes Character Animator.

Final Reflections

Animate Your Voiceis an easy-to-use tool, and I can definitely see my third-grade students and older students using it. Give it a go!

The Wick Editor may be your new, best digital tool. As a longtime gamer, I am always on the lookout for game creation tools. As a failed artist, drawing and animating aren’t easy. That’s where tools likeGiphy’s Powered Microgames are fun to explore. But now, there’sThe Wick Editor.

What Is The Wick Editor?

The Wick Editor empowers you as an animator and game creator. As a free, open source tool, it’s designed make creating web multimedia projects easy. What I found of interest is that the tools I used back in the day (e.g. HyperCard, Scratch) inspired its design. It offers a web-friendly interface to work in, making it great for web-powered devices (e.g. Chromebooks).

How Do I Learn to Use It?

The Wick Editor comes with a wealth of tutorials, such as the ones below:

• Getting Started with Animation
• Making Things Interactive
• Using Keyboard Interactions
• Using Advanced Text Settings
• Controlling Text with Code
• Making Interactive Buttons

And there are many more tutorials. The website also offers examples that you can save and re-use.

In the Classroom

The Wick Editor provides students a way to introduce key computational thinking ideas. Your middle school students will be animating content in no time. It provides students with the opportunity to learn about timelines, asset libraries, and inspectors.

And did I mention the very best feature? It’s 100% free for educators, as well as free, open source. This means your students can use it for free via their web browsers.CommonSense Media reviewed The Wick Editor for the Classroom. They shared this perspective:

Some students will gravitate toward Wick Editor’s features almost effortlessly, while others will need some time to get the hang of it. Kids can create animations of all sorts to complement classroom content. In science, ask students to demonstrate molecular movement in different states of matter.

For ELA, challenge them to re-create the setting, characters, or action from a short story or novel, and piece together class animations to teach elements of literature.

Group tech-savvy kids with those who excel at art or writing, and have them collaborate on a math game or a video about history — custom code features allow users to write scripts to level up animations.

Start building those foundational computational thinking skills.The ISTE Standards for Students define computational thinking activities as ways students can develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems. These strategies “leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.”

So what are you waiting for? Give The Wick Editor a try today and help your students achieve more.

The world is changing, and so are our ways of teaching. Decades ago, teachers would stand in front of the class, explain the lesson to students using a blackboard or a whiteboard, then expect the students to take notes and memorize them.

Then came the era of screen projectors. Teachers were no longer required to write manually on the board, but rather create presentations. Students also didn’t need to write anymore, as they could easily copy the PowerPoint file from the teachers. or receive a photocopy. 

Today, as our technology has become far more advanced, theflipped classroom isquickly becoming the norm. Basically, it’s the opposite of the “traditional” learning method where teachers are the central focus. In short, students are given online materials and required to study outside the class. When they return to the class, the students are instructed to discuss the new lesson they’ve just learned with their friends and teachers to create a deeper understanding of the topic.

Educational videos are the central point of the flipped classroom method. Because humans are naturally visual learners, students will understandvideos better than text. In this article, we’ll discuss five free tools to help you create educational videos.

Hippo Video

Hippo Video is the complete package; it has everything you need to create an educational video. With this tool, you can use the webcam to record your own lectures, and you can also record your screen along with the audio. Besides recording, you can edit, share, host, and track your video.  

It also integrates withGoogle Classroom,Google Slides, and otherGoogle online platforms, making it easy to collaborate online with your students. The best thing is, with all of its features, you can use it for free! 

Renderforest

If you want to create a video fast and easy, tryRenderforest. This tool offers free animated video templates in various categories like whiteboard animation, line-style explainer, 3-D explainer, and many others. In the educational video section, it offers 200 unique icons, scenes, and character animations.   

Animaker Edify

This one is similar to Renderforest and is used tocreate an animated video. You only need to drag and drop in-app icons to create various kinds of content like animation video, infographics, posters, presentations, video infographics, and vertical videos. 

Ezvid

Ezvid is another free and completely easy to use screen recorder. You can capture literally everything on your screen, be it games, web pages, applications, and many others. After that, you can edit your video and upload it directly to YouTube.

This tool is equipped with a webcam, voice recording, voice synthesis, screen drawing, and speed control, making it one of the best screen recorders and video makers in the business. 

Powtoon

Powtoon is an animated video and presentation maker. The free version comes with limited features and a watermark. Nevertheless, this tool is easy to use. It has in-app templates that are ready to use to make a presentation. You can also customize the templates with your own pictures, voice-overs, and soundtracks. 

For a more complete and advanced list, check out this article containing over100 video-making tools and platforms. 
Photo: Linda Xu

Animated GIFs function great as short picture tutorials. Theyplay well on social media, like Twitter, too. Creating these engaging picture slideshows can range from easy to hard depending on the tools you choose. Let’s take a look at a few free iOS, Windows, Mac, and Chrome tools to create animated GIFs. We will also explore some animated GIFs focused on theMicrosoft Education Community, featuring a few common tasks with which learners have problems.

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Example #1 – Tech Tips in 15 Seconds

Looking for ideas on how to use animated GIFs? Educational technologists need look no further than John Bimmerle’sTech Tips in 15 Seconds.

Here is one animated GIF shared via Twitter focused on OneNote sharing made easy. You can edit the images before placing them in an animated GIF sequence. Include instructions, helpful pointers, and more.

How to Share a@OneNoteEDU for#nonprofits via OneDrive for Business#tcea#mieexpertpic.twitter.com/NL5RwmyuIl

— Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin)November 3, 2017

Example #2 – Spice Up Twitterchats

You can also use animated GIFs to spice up your Twitterchat/Tweetmeet questions, as shown below. You can imagine creating your images in Powerpoint (or Slides), exporting the images, then stitching them together using one of the free tools available.

Looking forward to amazing folks presenting@TCEA CTS Academy on Nov. 16/17.https://t.co/i6nX2n3s3R#TCEActs@preimerspic.twitter.com/TP7aFOYgku

— Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin)November 1, 2017

Tools for Making Animated GIFs

Ready to make your own animated GIFs? If so, you may already have the tools on your device. The process involves recording a short step-by-step as a video and then converting that video into a series of pictures. The picture series is then animated and runs as a sequence known as an animated GIF. Here are my top picks for creating animated GIFs:

Subscription-Based Tools

• Screencastify Premium (Free for 10 minutes; subscription service available): This awesome screencasting tool (view tutorials) works great on Chromebooks or the Chrome browser. You can save your recordings as MP4 videos or as animated GIFs. These can be saved to either your device or directly to Google Drive. There’s even an education version worth investigating. Afew features of Screencastify include a focus mouse, draw with pen, embed webcam, and my favorite, crop and trim.  You can also record your desktop screen (e.g. Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux) or a particular tab on your Chrome browser.
• Gyazo GIF (Free for seven seconds; subscription service available): Gyazo GIF enables you to capture screenshots (pictures of your screen) and then share them online as animated GIFs or save them. You instantly share screenshots faster than any other service by uploading the image and copying the link to your clipboard instantly. Fellow Texan and TCEA member Kasey Bell has awonderful tutorial worth reading on this resource.

Animated GIF of Storyboarder was created with Screencastify’s Save to Animated GIF feature

No-Cost Tools

• Storyboarder (Free): This powerful storyboarding tool makes it easy to create animated GIFs (and a lot more). You can export creations to Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, Avid, PDF, and animated GIF formats. You can even print out storyboard worksheets and then draw on them. When done, snap a picture with your phone. Storyboarder will import the boards into your project.
• GifMaker.me (Free): You can use this web-based tool to create animated GIFs. You can also create video animations with free, online music. Another benefit is that GifMaker does not require an account, which makes it perfect for use in a classroom situation. An alternative browser-based gifmaker isEzGIF.com.
• GIF Toaster (iOS; Free): Looking for a way to create animated GIFs on the go? Look no further than GIF Toaster. You can take a series of photos (or screenshots on your iOS device), then arrange them as an animated GIF. You can then copy them to your computer using WiFi sharing from within the GIF Toaster app. It will also take a recorded video and save it as an animated GIF. Additional customization is possible with built-in filters, etc.
• DataGIFMaker: Although not strictly speaking an animated GIF maker useful for tutorials, if you need to play with data, you will want to check out this offering from Google. It allows you to enter a few values and then display them as an animated GIF. You simply enter data points, type in short names for data point clusters, select colors, and then save the animated GIF.See example.

There are many other tools (like Flipgrid!) available for creating animated GIFs. Share your favorite and what you’ve made with it in the comments.

Animated GIFs in the Classroom

Austin Houp recommends students create stop-motion animations as part of their learning activities. He suggests using Google Slides (you could also use MS PowerPoint). Students create a stop-motion slide deck and then export images using the Slides 2 Drive* add on. Then, as a final step, they can combine the entire series of pictures as an animated GIF usingGifMaker.me.

*Note: Slides2Drive will kick up some security warnings when you add it since it’s not an official add-on. You need it because creating stop-motion animation will result in numerous slides. Google Slides only allows you to export one slide at a time. With Slides2Drive, you can export all slides as images to Google Drive.

Aside from stop-motion animations, students can create short explanations using animated GIFs. Be sure to check out theTwitter Takeaways blog entries for some examples.

Microsoft Education Animated GIFs

As promised, here are a few animated GIFs featuring Microsoft’s Education Community.

Get a Printable Version of a Certificate in PDF Version

Completed a face-to-face or online course? If you need to get your certificate, you can rely on the animated GIF to walk you through the process. It was created with Screencastify Premium version’s tab recording option.

Get Your Microsoft Public Profile URL

Your public profile URL is often required when you are applying to participate in MIE programs. This animated GIF will walk you through the process of obtaining it.

PowToon is a fantastic program that’s great for both teachers and students. With an account, you can very easily and quickly create mesmerizing videos and presentations that are truly engaging. It includes beautiful templates that are drag and drop ready. And there’s an extensive help center and community support for new users.

PowToon is great to use for flipped classroom lessons because it is so very active and engaging. It also works well as a tool to have students share what they’ve learned about a particular topic or unit of study. Because it’s so easy to use (the hardest thing about it is logging in!), even elementary students can benefit from it, especially if you have them work in pairs to create their animations.

The software is so easy that it’s almost intuitive to use. But if you want to try a few tutorials to amp up your skills or those of your students, here are some good resources:

• Quick Start Guide
• Working with PowToon in the Classroom (for Teachers)
• Technology class lesson on using PowToon
• Top Five EdTech Tips: PowToon
• How Teachers and Students Are Using PowToon to Flip the Classroom
• 11 Quick and Amazing Ways to Use PowToon in Your Classroom

An update to Powtoon is coming soon and will include HTML5. That means that it will now be smoother and even easier to use, and you will be able to use it on a tablet. It will also include new functions that will make your classroom come even more alive (like live-action video!).

Try it for yourself and then watch the fun and learning really begin!

Toontastic 3D from Google is the latest storytelling app available, and it’s absolutely amazing. Students can draw their own characters, easily animate them, record their own narration, and create unbelievable stories. And did I mention that the powerful and open-ended app is free???

Available for bothAndroidandiOSplatforms, Toontastic 3D is perfect for storytelling with cartoons. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no registration, email address, or logins required. Google recommends the app for students ages 6-12, but I believe high school students would enjoy creating with it as well. And it would work with students working in pairs or alone. In addition, the app works just fine without Internet access. Finished animations are saved on the device in the app, but can also be exported to the photos app or library. Check out this30-second video about Toontastic 3D.

As with any tool, the strength of the learning that results comes from how much thought students have to put into it in the first place. So they should definitely be asked to storyboard their cartoon first and have it peer edited for clarity, flow, and understanding. The app encourages students to use “Story Arcs” in planning their masterpiece. According to the website, “A Story Arc is a scaffolding tool that helps you map out a story’s plot. Whether they’re learning Language Arts or Science, kids can practice communication skills using story arcs as formulas for convincing arguments.”

Recommended Story Arcs

Short Story (3 parts)

• BEGINNING Where you introduce the characters and the setting of your story
• MIDDLE Where something happens, like a problem
• END Where your story wraps up

Classic Story (5 parts)

• SETUP Where you introduce the story setting and characters
• CONFLICT Where you create a problem for your characters
• CHALLENGE Where you make the problem even more difficult
• CLIMAX Where you help the characters solve the problem
• RESOLUTION Where you show the problem has been solved

Science Report (5 parts)

• QUESTION Start by asking a research question. What do you want to know?
• HYPOTHESIS State your hypothesis. What do you think will happen?
• EXPERIMENT Explain your experiment. What data are you collecting, and what’s your control?
• RESULTS Analyze your results. What observations did you make?
• CONCLUSION Make a conclusion. What did you learn, and do you have any more questions?

Ways to Use Toontastic 3D in the Classroom

There are absolutely a TON of ways to use this resource:

• At the beginning of the year, the teacher can share a cartoon she has created previewing the upcoming learning for students. Students can interview each other and then create a story about their friend using a photo they take of them. They can create a “welcome to our school” animation for parents and visitors.
• In social studies, have students create cartoons about a state, historical figure, or time period they are studying. Or take primary documents and create a story about what they reveal.
• Students can retell a particular incident from a book they are reading, create a book talk promoting their favorite book, or retell a story from a different character’s viewpoint or with a different ending.
• If you really want to test your students’ creativity, ask them to create a short cartoon explaining a new math or science concept.
• Design public service announcements after students have researched a particular problem in their school or city.
• ESL/ELL students can use the app to illustrate vocabulary words.
• Campuses can do their morning announcements using Toontastic 3D, whether created by staff, volunteers, or students.
• If a concept is particularly difficult, the teacher can create an animation tutorial explaining it for students to watch whenever they need to.

Toontastic 3D empowers your students to be the actor, narrator, cartoonist, animator, director, artist, writer, or creative genius that they want to be. Download it today and get them started!