Video Tools

PixiClip (www.pixiclip.com) reminds me of the video tutorials on Khan Academy.  As such, it would be awesome for making video tutorials to post on your class website or blog.  I could see using this to prepare review material for the SOL, or for any unit.  Instead of just going through a boring presentation, you could use PixiClip for the same topic, but in video format instead. According to Garr Reynolds, "videos can provide a welcome change of pace in a presentation."  Maybe part of the lesson could be with Powerpoint, but then a video created on PixiClip could be added to change the pace and keep students awake and engaged.

Jing.com is similar to what I already do with my SMART Notebook software on my school laptop.  I can record everything that I do, including audio, and then save it to play later.  It would be nice to add a video of myself also like the screencast that Dr. Kimmel does.  Again, I would use this to post tutorials on my class website.  Making a screencast that shows everything I did during direct instruction would be so helpful for students who were absent that day.

Animoto.com is a free video source that allows you to use your own photos to create an engaging video.  The personal side of this site would be great to use to make videos of a new baby, a party, or a wedding.  In the classroom or library, I could see using this as a creative way to showcase student work.  You could take photos of all of the student work and then creative a video to post on the classroom website.  Or the video could be shown in class as an end of year celebration.

I was playing around with the video creation tools on Animoto.com and made this short video of photos from a beach vacation our family took. It was quick and easy.  It's too bad you are limited to 30 seconds without paying. Music is automatically added, which is nice because I think it helps to create an emotional connection to the video.  Achieving emotional connection through video is recommended by Garr Reynolds in his book, Presentation Zen Design.



Outer Banks Vacation