This is...

This is...

Click on the link above <This is> to see the Animoto video that I made for an example of a class assignment.

Using Animoto for Class Introductions

About the Assignment
I don’t know about you, but student introductions (especially for online classes) are generally pretty boring. And if I’m bored, you know they are bored. Ever since I started having students make Animoto slide shows as a part of their course introduction, two things have happened:

• All of the students read and watch one another’s introductions, many of them responding to one another; and
• I’ve regained the “blink” moment the first day of class with each student.

Although some people would argue that having a student use a new technology, at the beginning of the class, with no intention of having them use the technology again is bad form, I have found that it is totally worth the effort. Most students do not have a problem with the technology, especially after I found the “how to use Animoto video” and made my own “how to embed Animoto in WebCT” video. Although I’ve never explicitly asked, I’m willing to be lots of students promptly embedded their video in their Facebook page and/or made another one to share with friends and family.

Animoto is great because it easily allows individuals to upload pictures and includes a large variety of music under the Creative Commons licensing structure, so students don’t break copyright. I used Jing (http://jingproject.com/) to make the video about embedding the Animoto video in WebCT. Jing is free software, so you can easily make your own video showing students how to embed in your school’s LMS.

Assignment Prompt

Purpose
Introduce yourself to your classmates and your instructor.

Instructions
Create an account at http://animoto.com

• Gather 5-12 digital photos of yourself, family, etc... (Use photos you've taken yourself; if you do not have photos, you can search for some at http://search.creativecommons.org/)
• Make a 30 second introduction video using Animoto (use their music, not your own. Do not break copyright!)

In Discussion Board, introduce yourself and include why you are in the class, and something interesting about yourself (you actually write this portion). Then, paste in your Animoto video. Finally, make sure you go check out your classmates introductions. Say "hi" to one another.