Social Multimedia

I'm a producer?!?
Check out my first Animoto video!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIBLiMt-Hkc

What's with the cheese?
Sorry! It was very cheesy, wasn't it! It's because I'm getting married this Saturday, August 1st... so, I'm in that daydreamy mode right now. Most cheeses are pretty easy to slice. So was Animoto. I just got these engagement pics a few days ago from the photographer, so, I had to reduce the size of the pictures to ensure faster upload. I don't own any photo software so, I used Gimp, which is a free open source photo editor. I found this Animoto to be easier than Flickr when it came to reordering the pictures and adding text. I thought it was great that Animoto offerred a selection of music to choose from. I love the different edits they make for you each time with the same pictures even! I found the product to be better than what my skills would allow me in Moviemaker. However, because I was only using the free option I was limited to 30 seconds and I couldn't edit parts of the songs I wanted. But I'm not complaining. I am sending the link of this video to everyone. It was so fun to see what I "produced".

VoiceThread
Unlike Animoto which is an entertainment tool my mind, I think VoiceThread is more of an academic tool. I like the flexibility of adding a video, pictures, or documents onto VoiceThread anyone or those you invite can doodle on it or add comments in various ways (voice, phone, text, webcam). I think of this tool as a whiteboard plus skype. This is great for explaining concepts. Sometimes you just want to point something out because the other party is just not understanding or not seeing what you want them to see. I also like how this is not done via realtime and so, it can be opened up later and participation is still possible despite time zones or busy schdules, etc. There are so many 1 minute clips that VoiceThread offers, that it is easy to use this tool.

One teacher created a novel study project using VoiceThread and noticed that it was important to practice using Web 2.0 tools formally in the classroom. "Although the students were comfortable creating online content, they struggled to create content with an academic focus and tone appropriate for an academic task. The informality was particularly a problem when they recorded the narrative. The same studnts who regularly engaged in formal class presentations in other media struggled to record scholary presentations in VoiceThread." (A PRE-READING VOICETHREAD: Death Comes for the Archbishop. By: Bomar, Shannon. Knowledge Quest, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p26-27) This goes back to our group 1 discussion question#3 about whether or not it is important for students to use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. As this teacher pointed out, it is necessary because these students need to practice this transition as they reach the career world and they have to write emails, memos, make presentations - they can't just use the informal tone they are used to from leisure participation of online applications.

So what does Social Multimedia mean for students and Teachers?
-"Animoto will create a wave of excitement among most middle and high school students who enjoy incorporating digital photography into a high-tech video production."

-"For teachers and librarians who are looking to introduce instructional units, showcase ideas, or frame concepts with a musical element, Animoto will easily allow even the "technologically-challenged" to create high-tech productions that will amaze."
(ANIMOTO. By: Brisco, Shonda. School Library Journal, Jul2008, Vol. 54 Issue 7, p64-64)

-VoiceThread adds a new twist to visual presentations like Powerpoint as well as allowing students to work asynchronously on projects and at home

I think applications like Animoto and VoiceThread are the future. It doesn't have just one purpose like posting and watching videos or only producing podcasts. It's a mixture of many things. Social multimedia tools make "the work" more fun. For example, when working on a poster for a presentation and colouring or cutting pasting paper is not as fun as listening to music and selecting which one fits your slideshow.

As McPherson states, "[o]ne of the many challenges faced by teacher-librarians wanting to develop their student's new and multiple information literacies, is the process of locating engaging, cost effective, intuitive learning technologies." (Mashing Literacy. By: McPherson, Keith. Teacher Librarian, Jun2008, Vol. 35 Issue 5, p73-75) By golly, our choices are endless now!

Implications for the classroom and library
I feel like every week we learn a new tool and many of the class activities can be modified for each tool. I think I've been looking at this question incorrectly. It's not so much what kind of activities could you come up with for this tool, but it's more like which online skill do I want my students to focus on next with this next activity or project. I've come to this idea because VoiceThread and Animoto is a complex tool yet so easy to use! In some ways easier than others! I mean you can post videos on Youtube, but you can't make one on there. With Animoto, I would use it for activities about visuals, tone and mood. The music function is quite powerful in explaining what the pictures are portraying. With VoiceThread, I would use it to emphasize on how powerful communication is since there are so many forms to communicate your opinion with VoiceThread including the doodling tool.