Creativity Tools: GoAnimate!

GoAnimate is a Web 2.0 tool  which allows you to make cartoon videos using your own instructional input.  The website is http://www.goanimate.com.  You can create a free account that will allow you free access to many (but not all) pre made scenes and characters.  You simply type in the text (information/content) you want them to say.  It is an easy to use, fun and engaging way to present any type of information or content. (Especially useful when the information might be dry or difficult to concentrate on!)  The video creation steps are very simple and clear. You can insert information from any type of brief lecture (up to ten lines of dialog), create your video, embed in a wiki, blog, or other site and show it to your students.  Disadvantages are that some of the pre-made scenes and characters are not available unless you subscribe and pay for more access to the tool.  The voices do sound a little strange - like canned computer voices.  There is a companion site, www.goanimate4schools.com which a teacher or school can purchase but there is a fee and credit card payment or purchase order required.  This school site would enable teachers to set up classroom accounts, allow students to create their own videos within a class but also give them some control.  But, I imagine that any student could also set up their own individual, free account as an option for completing and sharing a project and using the limited, free portion of the site.

 Giraffe and Zebra talk about intellectual property is a brief GoAnimate cartoon I created about intellectual property.  (Hopefully this link will work!)  Enjoy.