Animoto

While searching on delicious, I stumbled upon a site that listed several web 2.0 applications and software appropriate for elementary schools.  There was one site that stood out, Amimoto (http://animoto.com), for which I saw a lot of potential!  

Animoto is a site which allows and individual (in my case, students) to submit pictures, lyrics, songs, or a combination of these, and a music video will be custom made by TV and film producers!  Imagine the potential for music teachers who are teaching students to write music.  The draw of having their own unique music video would be inspiring to the most reluctant learner.

In my elementary school, I work with students to conduct the research component of a project.  However, I'm a firm believer in trying to extend the learning by having students use the uncovered data in a fun and productive way.  One year, my fourth graders conducted research on notable African Americans to celebrate African American History Month.  After conducting the research process with me, these students worked with the music teacher to write lyrics to a jazz song since jazz happened to be their genre of study.  The lyrics told what they had learned through the research.  Just imagine if we were able to use Animoto to make this jazz song into a music video!  It would be a great way to get the art teacher connected with the picture-taking and uploading.

I definitely see the potential Animoto has in encouraging students to reach their potential - whether it's writing (as in lyrics),  writing music, photography, or anything else!