Reflection on the Process
One of the simplest definitions of mashups that I found came from Ask Bob Rankin who states, "a mashup is a term that's become popular to describe Web 2.0ish sites that combine the features or functions of one website with another." Like anything to do with the web, mashups have multiplied exponentially. There are now more mashup sites than you probably know what to do with - well, at least more than I know what to do with! Mashups are popular because they're easy to use. People who don't have any programming knowledge (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) can look really talented and smart. As well, I don't know about your computer, but after three people load up all their music, pictures, videos, and whatever else onto it, it can get pretty slow. One of the beautiful things about mashups is that you can use and store them out on the web and not on your own computer! Saves a lot of space!
Through Bob Rankin I found an amazing site called Programmable Web. You won't believe the mashups you can find here! I test drove just a few of them before moving on to my actual assignment. I thought I would share a few that I enjoyed.
I've been a World War II junkie since Grade 10 English when we read the book Diary of Anne Frank. I found a mashup that is a timeline of World War II combined with a map. Also, people can discuss the different additions to the timeline if they wish. Check out the World War II Timeline Project.
GeoWalk is a cool site. Here you can double click any location on the map and learn information about the place and see photos.
Bubblr is a mashup with Flickr that lets you insert cartoon bubbles onto your pictures. You can do it for an individual photo or you can create a comic strip!
Quite literally, I could have been lost in there for ages, but my assignment was already late, so onward I went.
My first stop was to Animoto. I have seen Animoto in action before, but I have never created my own Animoto video. I belong to a library list serve and quite frequently there are posts from people either asking questions about book trailers or wanting to show what their students have done using Animoto.
Animoto is easy to use. You simply upload the pictures you want to use, choose your music, send your video to production and you're done! I only used the free, 30 second option. I wanted to make a book trailer. I decided I'd try making one for one of my current favourites, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. I signed up for an account and I was off and running. Because I didn't have any personal pictures suitable for this video, I went to Creative Commons on Flickr to access some. This is what was for me, the longest and most difficult part of the process. It took a long time to find pictures that worked with my story. Once they were found, it was easy to upload them; a simple click. Then I was prompted to choose music either from their selection or my own (I used theirs). Then, a click of a button to finalize. Animoto sends a copy of the video to your e-mail address, so you don't even have to wait for it to be finished! Overall, it's a process that couldn't be simpler for a professional looking project! Like "smashed 'tatoes" it's easy. You can do as many different projects and even different looks for the same project as you want. It is definitely filling!
Here is my first Animoto video!
Voice Thread is a unique mashup that has many exciting possibilities for use in schools and libraries. Getting started with Voice Thread is easy. Simply create an account and you can begin using the program immediately for free. You can upgrade, of course, to have more capabilities, but at this time, a free account offers me everything I need.
I actually signed up for an account under the K-12 program. By using the K-12 program, you have extra security so that no one else can read or edit what you are posting unless you specifically allow it. Also, content is controlled and students can be added and allowed under their teacher's account, so no student e-mails are required. All that shows up on the Voice Thread is the student's avatar and first name, so it is a safe space to work.
I did not have any trouble getting an account started nor did I have trouble uploading an image of the book cover I wanted to discuss. My avatar loaded in easily and I was able to record myself talking. The, I wanted my daughter who had read the book to add a comment. Here is where I had more difficulty. I kept clicking on the add a friend and link buttons, but I couldn't see anything happening. She logged in to her e-mail and did receive an e-mail, but when she followed the link, bit didn't get her to a place where she could respond. We played with this for a really long time with no luck. Finally, we clicked on the little house in the bottom left corner. From here we could choose her identity and she could add her comment (she typed it just to switch it up a bit). I have to admit I had a lot of difficulty with this part of it. I know it's not supposed to be difficult for people to add their comments, and it probably isn't, but we sure weren't doing something right!
Well, this is a very basic Voice Thread, but it does give a sense of one of the ways in which I would use this tool most frequently.
Multimedia Sharing and my Personal Learning
Well, if I am being really honest, I am most likely to use both of these tools for educational reasons more often than personal. Although, I sure wish these tools were available when my grandma's and my dad were still alive. They would have been fantastic for interviewing them and having them talk about some of the big events in their lives. It would have been nice to have their thoughts and their voices saved forever.
I made an Animoto video with some of the wedding pictures I had loaded up on Flickr. It turned out well, and it was fun and easy to do. It didn't take nearly as long as my other video, but that was because I had all the images.
I can see myself making fun videos from photos of the girls' weekend away or of our dinner club parties. It's easy and it's a fun way for everyone to see the pictures. Plus, I'd look like a real talented video maker!
Voice Thread is one I don't see myself using as often as a personal tool. I can see so many uses for it professionally, and if I had small children, I could see using to do story telling and we definitely would have used it when we lived in Vancouver and all our family was here. But today, I do not see a lot of use for this tool personally.
Multimedia Sharing, Teaching and Learning
So here's where I get very excited. The possibilities for both of these tools on a professional level are huge!
Let's start with Animoto. As a Teacher-Librarian, I am most excited to use this tool with students to create book trailers. I know there are many other uses, but students are creative, and this is engaging work for them. Imagine having them try to pull out the most key images from a novel and try to tell a story and/or pique interest in a novel in only seconds? As well, as teachers we need to provide opportunities for students to learn about all kinds of literacies, including visual. Animoto provides an excellent opportunity to do that.
I teach English Language Arts 20. The two themes for this are Recollection and Anticipation. I have had students do a visual timeline of their childhood, collages, Who I Was poems and other activities to show me what they were like as young children. Imagine the possibilities with Animoto! They could really personalize their videos, and I bet I would learn even more about them. Of course, there are lots of mini lessons and sidebars to a project like this. Everything from use of photos and copyright to visual literacy skills, mood and tone with music and more.
As well, I also have students do book talks and other activities throughout the semester. I like them to do something with the books they read during our independent reading time. As well, I find that nothing prompts students to read a book like a recommendation by a friend. So, creating an Animoto book trailer could be one of the activities they do during the semester.
The Animoto site has lots of great ideas for what you can do with Animoto. Check out the case studies. There is a great Discovery Learning podcast that was set to Animoto and a really good video about bullying by students in a younger grade. I am teaching Grade 7 Health this year, and we are working on conflict resolution. I showed some of these videos to my students, and they are going to begin brainstorming and planning their own next week. Using still pictures and Animoto makes it very doable when working with young kids. Also, check out the iLearnTechnology blog because it has some great ideas for pretty much every curriculum area!
Voicethread has an entirely different set of possibilities, although I always jump first to ideas that will promote literacy and reading. Of course, Voicethread allows the mixing of pictures and videos and five different ways to respond inlcluding by microphone, by typing, by phone, by uploading an audio file or by video with a webcam. One of the ways I want to use this particular tool is with literature circles. It's a great way to record an online discussion. Either students or teachers could post a critical thinking question and everyone could respond to it in whatever manner they are most comfortable.
Another great idea a person could use in any subject is to put up a picture and have students discuss and comment on it. I used to teach History, and in the text there was always a picture for study and discussion. You could put up a picture or pictures in History, Art, Science, any subject and have students comment on them and discuss them. It's quick and easy.
Beth Burke created a wiki called VoiceThread Resources and Ideas and has numerous ideas and examples of voice thread in a variety of subject areas and even for administrative use!
Of course, one of the most common uses for VoiceThread is digital storytelling. There are multiple examples of digital storytelling online. I have never done this, but again, in my ELA 20 class, I usually do a project where students study some children's literature and then write their own. After, we share it with students at the elementary school next to us. I have two ideas floating around. One, we do the same type of thing, but they create their stories digitally. Two, I partner students up with a younger buddy and they create a story together. I will talk to a teacher at the elementary school about the possibility of doing this next semester.
Another great use for VoiceThread would be simply for speaking practice. Having just got through the first set of book talks, it is obvious to me that my students need more practice speaking and planning to speak. I think VoiceThread would be a great tool for them to use in planning a book talk and practicing their speaking so that it is paced properly, clearly spoken and properly pronounced.
I found a Ning by Mark Carls called Voicethread for Educators. There are people from all over the world sharing on this site which is evident from the variety of language one sees upon first looking at the site. But there are resources and examples for all age groups and subject areas here. Another great wiki to check out is simply entitled VoiceThread. This wiki has tutorials, examples and lots of links. Really worth spending some time with it!
Did the multimedia sharing sites of Animoto and VoiceThread measure up? Well, they're easy, they're filling, and you can do lots with them, so, definitely, "More mashups, please!"
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