Easy Animation for the Classroom

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Easy Animation for the Classroom
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as means to an end.

• Students can show understanding of a process
• Students can express thoughts graphically
• Students can work collaboratively
• Students are engaged in their own learning

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It starts with a plan.

• A clear curricular goal that can be assessed
• Support documents for students (checklist,
  worksheets, blank storyboards)
• A working sample

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The most important activities are prior to using
animation software

• Information Research
• Conceptual Planning
• Storyboarding
• Creating characters
• Communication

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..and there can be an assessment or checkpoint
at each crossroad
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Software

• MovieMaker (windows) or iMovie (MAC)
• SAM animation (www.samanimation.com)
• Pencil, frames, other software

Hardware

• Computer
• Camera
• Microphone for recording (many laptops
• have mics built in

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Animation Components

• Software must have the ability to display images
  for a short length of time
• needs to have an easy way of importing the
  images into the software

Camera takes small (low res) images needs to
have a way to keep the camera in one
place takes pictures via a mouse click
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MovieMaker settings for Animation
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iMovie Settings

• Creating a short duration for animation depends
  on what version of iMovie
• Older versions require you change each photo
  duration manually
• Newer versions allow you to set a default time
  when importing the images (Preferences)

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SAM Animation
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The Seasons

• Curricular Goals
• Science-students understand the
• sequence of the seasons
• Language Arts-students write
• descriptive sentences/poetry for each season
• Art-Students create appropriate art for the
  animation
• Collaboration-students work in groups of 3

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Student Prep

• Describe seasons in terms
• of an object (e.g. tree)
• Identify stages for seasons as it
• relates to their object (buds, leaves, fall
  colors, leaves dropping)
• Creative artwork (baseball hat, ear muffs, scarf)
• Write, peer edit, practice speaking the
  descriptive sentences/poems
• Basic storyboard, create artwork, develop plan to
  create animation

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Software Choices(all FREE!!)

• MovieMaker
• iMovie
• SAM animation
• PowerPoint