Animoto’s potential benefits for the classroom reach far beyond serving as a simple presentation tool. Along with addressing multiple learning styles, Animoto allows students to demonstrate understanding in creative ways while presenting to an authentic audience. Animoto “enables visual, aural, and textual learners to quickly create and communicate complex new and powerful stories and messages of a multimodal nature” (McPherson, 2008). This “multimodal” approach can benefit the special needs classroom where differentiation is vital to engagement and learning. For example, a visual learner can greatly benefit from visual representations of concepts that are often delivered in an auditory and textual manner. “Examples are visual presentations representing specific mathematical shapes or equations, a visual and auditory timeline of the development of a particular technology or art, or visuals and sounds representing the cyclic stages of photosynthesis or a mammal’s life”(McPherson, 2008). Visual representations can also prove advantageous for the English as a second language classroom. Learning vocabulary can be greatly enhanced through the use of video montages. Animoto can also be used as a powerful retelling and summarizing tool. It also establishes a home connection due to its sharing capabilities, as work is often shared with parents and peers or embedded into class wikis and websites. Animoto establishes a new way of demonstrating understanding. No longer limited to a tests or quizzes; assessments have evolved to include presentation and video. Animoto promotes student engagement by functioning as a multimedia tool which fosters 21st century skills.
References
McPherson, K. (2008). Mashing literacy. Teacher Librarian, 35(5), 73-75. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.ace.edu/login??url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/224875729?accountid=31683
Ed Tech 