Go!Animate
RSSChristopher Bell -- School Library Journal, 11/18/2009
Tired of those same old PowerPoint, poster board, and paper presentations? As a student and a teacher, I dread presentation days because I know I’ll have to endure the same time-worn models over and over again. So I decided to look for more creative ways to present things. Enter Go!Animate. This nifty Web-based program enables a user to design working cartoons. All you do is go to its Web site, create an account, and get started. Plus, it’s free!
Go!Animate can be used to create a movie that you can share with others, and the program offers a gallery of familiar pictures, including images of Saturday morning cartoon characters such as Underdog and Street Fighter video game celebrities. I even saw some images of President Obama! You can also upload your own sounds, pictures, and movies while creating a cartoon. Begin by laying out your story; then add your characters, sounds, voiceover, music, and effects—and don’t forget to save everything. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first animated cartoon!
I honestly wasn’t sure this was going to work in a classroom setting, but I talked a teacher into allowing students to use this tool, and it was a hit! The teacher really liked how personalized the project was and that it included everything that students typically put in a PowerPoint presentation. I can see lots of applications for writing classes, since as a teacher you could create a base story in Go!Animate and then ask students to go and make scenes to continue the story.
Trade in those old PowerPoints and overheads for something far more interesting. Go!Animate creates cartoons that will hold your class’s attention, and it’s fun for teachers and students to use. Now get animating!
