Creating Animated GIFs

Animated GIF images have are very popular on the web, as you may have noticed. You can create animated GIFs quite simply with a collection of photographs. Most phone cameras will have built in methods so you don’t even have to think about it.  There are some online applications too that allow you to upload your images and share the completed animation in a variety of ways.

The HTC one, for example, has a couple of ways to create animated gifs. The camera has a Zoe mode where the camera takes multiple shots in quick succession.  It stores them in the gallery like all your other photos. The other useful thing about the Zoe effect is that if you just want a single image, you can edit the animation, select the best shot of the range; so you can always get your best side!

If you’re not too keen on creating them manually (or simply don't know how), you can download one of the many useful free apps to simplify the process and save time.  About Technology have a list of 9 free GIF maker apps you can get started with, on your iPhone and/or Android.

Not Wordled for a while!

Nice to see what the popular repeated words are in your posts sometimes. I think I need to use word clouds more often. It does give a nicer view of a summary sometimes. You can use Wordle or Tagxedo or other word cloud creators to demonstrate to your learners your ideas about a project, to share vocabulary for a written piece or to celebrate common interests in something. You can either type in the text, copy and paste from a source or even put a web address in. With Tagxedo you can even choose the shape you want your words to be presented in.

Animation for Learning

As educators it is important for us to consider new and better approaches to engage our learners. Research suggests Ainsworth (2008) when we are having fun, we tend to learn better. It also suggests that when both visual and spoken communication is used there is a high retention of information. With this in mind, Animation offers exciting possibilities for meeting the needs of 21st century learners. I can see this in two way; using Animations to convey a message or information, and using Animations for learners to demonstrate their understanding of the message or information (Hwang, Tam & Lam, 2012). So, the input and the output if you like?
Animation fulfils a cognitive function. In this role, animations are intended to support learners’ cognitive processes that ultimately result in them understanding the subject matter. Animation can be used to make very exciting and fun animations into which education and training can easily be incorporated. Instructors can also use animation to demonstrate things and concepts visually exactly how they want to since they have control of every aspect of the animation. It can be used to show how things come together and work together.

Young people are fascinated by animation and animated stories and they enjoy the opportunity to create their own. The creative potential of animation is enormous, and integrating animation activities into the school curriculum offers the possibility of tapping this potential to meet a range of educational objectives

The world's largest stop-motion animation set

... shot on a Nokia N8!



Last year I shared the World's smallest stop-motion animation Dot. It was created by Sumo Science at Aardman Animations using a Nokia N8 cellphone equipped with a CellScope microscope attachment. So in contrast here is their new production the largest stop motion set. 'Gulp' is a short film, depicting a fisherman going about his daily catch. Shot on location at Pendine Beach in South Wales, every frame of this stop-motion animation was shot using a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics. The film has broken a world record for the 'largest stop-motion animation set', with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square

Learning Environments

The article from EDUCAUSE Learning Environments: Where Space, Technology, and Culture Converge, suggest that there is a strong and growing desire to try to make sense of the remarkable changes that colleges and universities have undergone in the past generation and to understand technology in the wide framework of educational opportunities.

As long as teachers have taught and students have learned, people have thought about learning spaces. Where do people go to learn? What do those places look like? How does the arrangement of a learning space contribute to—or detract from—the task of education? What do we mean by learning environments? I asked these questions today to my 3rd year undergraduates on the Education Studies degree. Their favourite response was "Anywhere that engages and stimulates the learner." They agreed that the learning environment doesn’t necessarily mean a physical space. The other thing that they all agreed with was the fact that learning happens anywhere, and the environment has many elements.  One group suggested that, "The environment needs to suit the kind of task that needs to be completed. People tend to learn more in an environment where they feel comfortable and confident. Duration and the level of noise can also have an impact on how someone can learn. Everyone's learning styles need to be taken into consideration."

Additional reading: The Future of Learning Interesting blog post

Learning Environments: Where Space, Technology, and Culture 

Incidental learning at its best!