Using Animations to Apply Knowledge

Creating animations is a great way for students to apply their knowledge and demonstrate understanding. It also allows students to develop problem solving and decision making skills while being creative and having fun.  I have included a few links to sites to give ideas and a table to show how animations can be used across subject areas.


I Create to Educate

Great student sample I particularly like to animated diagram of the heart.


Sam Animation


Klutz: great ideas for stop motion animation


Animate Clay


RollerMache


Animation for education

Using Animations Across Subject Areas

English

• Demonstrate knowledge of the genre and audience

• Create a Book trailer as an alternative to a book report

• Interpret myths and legends

• Interpret a poem or nursery rhyme through animation

• Create a persuasive animation by focusing on environmental issues

• Bring characters from a novel or play to life by adding them to an animation

• Write a story and adapt to an animation

• Using foam letters to spell words

• Using magnetic words to create sentences

• Use new vocabulary words in context

• Create an advertisement

Maths

• Demonstrate understanding of fractions and percentages

• Display number equations

• Create shapes

• Demonstrate understanding of percentages

• Demonstrate understanding of time

• Create animated graphs

• Use lego blocks for counting

Science

• Demonstrate phases of the moon

• Life Cycles

• Solids, liquids and gases

• Forms of energy

• create a sun safe animation

• Growth of a plant

• Circulatory system

• Digestive system

• Demonstrate a volcanic eruption or earthquake

• Time-lapse video of plant growing, weather changing and melting

• Show understanding of laws of physics

• Show the position and movement of planets in our solar system

• Demonstrate understanding of magnets

SOSE

• Indigenous dreamtime stories

• Re-enact events in history

• Environmental sustainability

• Travel around a map

• Natural Disasters

• Languages Stroke order of script writing

• Characters speaking in the target language

• Create an animation depicting a culture

Art

• Demonstrate colour theory

• Bring an art work to life

• Demonstrate understanding of the elements and principle of design

• Document the creation of an artwork from beginning to end

• Create animation exploring art movements e.g. Surrealism

Music

• Create music tracks for animations

• Demonstrate how to write music

• Demonstrate music theory

Home Economics

• Demonstrate procedures and safety

• Create the illusion that a meal made itself by taking images during the preparing and cooking process.

• Nutrition

Travel Back in Time with Interactive Timelines

One of the things I like about the internet, is it allows resources to become interactive. There are many interactive timelines which are available now, which provide an engaging way to look at history. Teachers can use them on Interactive whiteboards and they can cater for a range of subject areas. Students can explore on their own, find information for a research task or search for items similar to a scavenger hunt.


Conflict History

One in particular is called Conflict History. This site provides a timeline of the conflicts around the world throughout history. The site also provides a map of the world linking the countries involved in the conflict. There is information provided on each conflict provided by Wikipedia. This is a great resource for History and Geography. The scary thing is to see how many conflicts are documented in the 2000s.

British Library Interactive Timeline

Here is another great interactive timeline which can be used across many subject areas such as Ancient and Modern History, English, Science, Art and Music. The site is called the British Library interactive timeline. It allows you to explore collection items chronologically, from medieval times to the present day.


It includes a diverse range of resources divided into the following categories:

• Politics, power and rebellion
• Literature, Music and Entertainment
• Everyday
• Sacred texts
• Medicine, Science and Technology

Once you have chosen the category and the item you can explore further by viewing the image, video or transcript. You can print or download the information as a pdf file.

Here are a few Interactive timelines more worth looking at:



British History

NASA Historical Timeline

Sea Monsters a Prehistoric Adventure

Benjamin Franklin’s Interactive Timeline

Timeline of Google

Australian Screen interactive Timeline

Warhol Interactive Timeline

This site gives information about Andy Warhol and the major events in the world during the 1920s – 1960s.

Interactive Timelines for Art History

Smart History

Art History

Timeline of European Painters

More Fun Interactive Sites for Kids

Here are a few more sites which are sure to keep students busy and happy!

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/SweepsBrain/sweepsbrain.html

This is a great interactive site where students can explore and engage in learning by clicking on the characters.

Little Einsteins

http://tv.disney.go.com/playhouse/littleeinsteins/index.html

This site is based on the TV show of the same name.  The site offers a range of activities involving art and music.

Painting Game

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/games/#/lb/somethingspecial/paintinggame

This is a fun game where you add to a story by drawing characters and story settings.

Number Jacks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/numberjacks/games/

This is a site based on the TV show about numbers.  It provides games which help the development of numeracy skills.

Sid the Science Kid

http://pbskids.org/sid/

This site provides many opportunities to explore. 

Students can visit different rooms and engage in different science oriented activities.

Poisson Rouge

http://www.poissonrouge.com/

This is an engaging interactive site with a lot of potential. It includes music, art, colours, matching games, astronomy, letters, numbers and time to just name a few. You can click on each image to take you to a game.

When you click on the keyboard it takes you to a music game.  When you click on a key on the keyboard the note is written on the staff above. 

When you click on the clock, you go to this game where you can move the hands on the clock and the corresponding digital time is displayed.

Being an art teacher I love this one, when you click on the stain glass window with the fish on it, you go to a virtual art gallery.  You can then look at four different artworks created by Pollock, Warhol, Mondrian and Escher.  When you click on each one you can interact or create a work.

Create a Jackson Pollock inspired work or

alter the colours on Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe prints

When you click on the little people you can create your own choir and harmony.

Click on the telescope and discover constellations.

Click on the picture and explore optical illusions.

The paint and brush will take you to a colouring activity.

You can even mix colours and clean your brush in the water.

There are many more activities available on this site.  I spent hours on it, imagine how engaged children world be.

So you want to be a Rock Star!

Recently I have been experimenting with Music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. While I was strumming the guitar I started to think of possible ways to integrate these games into the classroom. My immediate thoughts went to how I would use them in Art and Multimedia classes and then I continued to explore further.  (One thing to be aware of is some games may have inappropriate images so choose a game which best suits the age of your students).

Here are a few ideas, (Happy to hear any ideas you might have to add)


• Write a blog of experiences, levels and songs mastered

• Document the songs and artists

• Research the artists

• Create an online timeline of the different styles of music
 http://www.xtimeline.com/

 http://www.timerime.com/

• Explore the period of time or culture associated with each song

• Interpret the lyrics of a song

• Write lyrics for a song

• Look at music search sites
http://audiomap.tuneglue.net/
http://www.liveplasma.com/
http://musicovery.com/

• Look at different instruments

• Create a Glossary of Music terms

This site could be useful in this task

Fun with Music

• Analyse the game

• Write a comparison between two similar games

• Write a review for the game to be published in a game magazine or blog

• Design a rubric to assess a game

• Hold a tournament between students with teams and prizes to win

• Design own rock star

http://www.blogger.com/•http://www.ugo.com/heromachine/rockstar/

• Design a Guitar

http://www.flashninjaclan.com/zzz1644_Custom_Guitar.php

• Design a poster for a band or rock star

• Write a story about rock star

• Create a virtual tour for a rock band

• Create a comic based on a rock star

• Create your own music       You can use the Audio Editor on the Aviary site

http://aviary.com/

• Beat Maker ipod app

Benefits of playing Music Games:

• develop rhythm
• develop hand-eye co-ordination
• motor skills
• develop memory and indentifying skills
• music recognition

Here are a list of games:

Game Consoles:

http://hub.guitarhero.com/

http://www.rockband.com/

Online Games:

Guitar Hero II

http://www.multigames.com/game/Guitar_Hero_II-EKn57X5O

Guitar Master

http://www.funny-games.biz/guitar-master-4.html

http://www.agame.com/game/Alvins-Guitar-Genius.html

There is also a range of ipod apps such as:

Guitar Rock Tour

Guitar Rock Tour 2

Rock Band

             Tap Tap Pro