Tools/Resources needed for this activity:
- iOS device (but this activity can be adapted to multiple platforms—Anroid, PC/Mac).
- Animoto app downloaded (search “Animoto” in App store)
- A number of images and videos on mobile device
Educators often ask students to make meaning of written, visual, and aural texts. It is not uncommon for lectures to be designed around TED talks, YouTube videos, Vimeo videos, etc. Additionally, a common assignment involves students rhetorically analyzing visual texts to identify the rhetorical strategies and techniques composers of these texts employ. The rhetorical analysis assignment is an effective means for students to make meaning of texts. However, as students and educators move beyond being consumers of multimodal texts, toward becoming producers of a variety of texts in a variety or combination of modes, they look toward creating visually enhanced texts to meet course outcomes. One way to do this is to ask students to create and edit video texts.
Animoto is an online, user-friendly platform that encourages users to create video texts for personal, business, and photographic means. Pricing plans exist for personal and business purposes, beginning with the lowest “lite” level, which is free. This free registration limits users to 30 second videos and also limits style and music choices. Check out the pricing plans for more details: http://animoto.com/pricing
Here’s how creating videos works:
- Insert up to twelve images and videos captured on mobile devices—Animoto automatically crops videos to fit the 30 second time limit.
- Select from a variety of background styles and music.
- Add “intro” and “outro” captions.
- Preview the video before finalizing.
- Edit video to make changes/corrections. (Select the ← at top of device to return to previous screens)
- Save video and play!
Direct link to video: http://animoto.com/play/L0DMjZbMIqoSoPiRtxsMuA
Direct link to video: http://animoto.com/play/TtcF5thF1Z1UGKti8vVdjg
Suggested Classroom Activity: Animoto Video Introductions
Additional Video Capture and Editing Apps:
YouTube Capture: http://www.youtube.com/capture
Magisto Magical Video Editor: http://www.magisto.com/?gclid=CKnM56Cdl70CFcg7MgodbA4AQg