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Introduce Yourself with Animaker!
Details
Activity Description
(Note: The free version of Animaker allows students to create and download up to 3 videos per month.)
Preparation
- Check the website to ensure it is not blocked at your site.
- Read through the lesson plan.
- Print and make copies of any handouts.
How-To
Animaker has a fantastic step-by-step instructional manual on their website. It's easy to understand and guides you along every step of the process for making a video, including how students can sync their own voices to their Avatars. The page is titled "How to make Animated Educational Videos using Animaker," but the instructions are really for making any type of animated video. Here's the link to the page: Animated educational videos and how to create them
The only thing that I would emphasize to my students is to create their own avatar. There are step-by-step instructions for that here: How to create Animated Characters? [In five simple steps]
In addition, if you'd like to add subtitles to the videos, here's a video tutorial: How to add subtitles to your Animaker video
Students can view each other's videos online without having to download anything by copying the link to their completed videos . Simply click on the share icon (in the top right corner next to the 'publish' button), and click the green 'Copy' button. (Make sure the permission is set to 'view link', not 'edit link'.) The link can be added to an LMS discussion page (see lesson plan), your class website, social media, etc.
Teacher Tips
We highly recommend that you spend time creating a video with the app before you ask your students to do it. Although the app is very user friendly, it can be a little confusing at first. It's also good to have an idea about the limitations that come with a free account.
More Ways
The possibilities are endless, such as creating presentations, stories, student-made lessons to teach their peers, instructional videos, etc.
Program Areas
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
- ESL: English as a Second Language
Levels
- All Levels
- All Levels
Lesson Plan
Mixer: Introductions (This activity is to warm-up student's prior knowledge of the language and to generate some ideas for the introduction video. You can alter the questions to reflect the level of your class.)
Write 2 questions on the board: "What's something interesting that you remember from when you were young?" and "What are 2 interesting things about you?"
Give a couple of examples, like, "I was bullied a lot when I was young," and "I like music and I can whistle very well."
If you'd like, you can have students write down other students' answers, collect them, read them, and see if students can remember (or guess) which students said the answers.
Tell students that they will be creating a video to introduce themselves to the other students. If you'd like, show them a video introduction of yourself that you made on Animaker. (See the 'How-to' notes.)
Presentation Part 1: Explain what a script is and that the students are going to write a script. (Note: You can adjust the number of scenes and the content according to the level of your class.)
Each scene will have a location, characters, and dialogue. You can provide the topic for each scene, but it will be fun for the students to decide all of the other details themselves.
For example, Scene 1: Introduce yourself. Scene 2: Tell us something about your childhood. Scene 3: Tell us 1 interesting thing about yourself. Etc. (Note: The videos will take some time to construct, so don't overload your students with scenes.)
You can even provide students with a template, like: Scene 1: INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Location: __________. People in the scene: _________. I say, "________________________".)
Presentation Part 2: Project the Animaker website on a screen. Walk your students through the steps of how to make a video. Be sure to include the the steps for logging into the website, creating an avatar, syncing your voice, and editing the length of scenes. (See the 'How-to' notes.)
For classes with students who have lower tech skills, you may want to break the steps into smaller activities.
Allow plenty of classroom time for your students to use their scripts to create their videos.
A good practice would be to group students (with a mix of tech skills) so that they can help each other when needed.
There are many ways to evaluate this activity. Here are 3 ideas:
1. Students could play their videos in class and the other students could ask questions afterwards.
2. If the class uses an LMS, students can post a link to their video on a discussion page. (See the 'How-to' notes). Then, other students could reply with questions, comments, and suggestions for editing the videos.
3. You could make a listening/reading quiz based on all of the videos, like 'identify the student who...".
If you post links on an discussion page, students can continue watching others' videos after class and replying with questions, comments, and suggestions for editing the videos.
Students could also add scenes to their videos with more information about themselves, like hobbies, interests, educational goals, etc.
Subjects
- Reasoning Through Language Arts
- Mechanics (Capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling)
- Writing
- Basic Sentences
- Mechanics (Capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling)
- Paragraph Skills
- Parts of Speech
Standards
- Writing
- CCR Anchor 3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
- Speaking and Listening
- CCR Anchor 2 - Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
- Language
- CCR Anchor 1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
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Creative Commons License
