50 Free Animation Tools And Resources For Digital Learners. 50 Animation Tools & Resources For Digital Learners by Lisa Chesser, opencolleges.edu.au A purple monster with wild curls spiraling out of control explains the economics of oil production in the Sudan to students in Los Angeles, Sydney, Berlin, Jerusalem, and Riyadh. That is education and animation working together to teach students everywhere, everything they ever wanted to know. Educators need only utilize the tools available, most of them for free. Some of the animation links catalogued here will give educators very basic tools and histories of animation while others have the animation already created and set in motion, it’s just a matter of sharing it with students.
Educators need to decide which tool is best for them. One of the easiest ways to animate, however, isn’t with your own camera and modeling clay, it’s with your links to sites that hand you everything within their own forums. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. For those who prefer to draw, there’s Make It Share It. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Digital Story Project. Digital Story Project Every semester, I have my students do a Digital Story project. If you are unfamiliar with digital stories, think of them as small films with clear objectives and instructions. If you would like to read more about my journeys in Digital Storytelling, see my earlier articles: “My First Attempt at Digital Storytelling” and “Digital Storytelling in the Classroom.” Every time that I assign this project, my students never cease to amaze me (and themselves).
If you would like some background on the project, here is the instruction hand-out: You may also download a PDF version of the instructions here: Digital Story Instructions. I also distribute to students a copy of the rubric, so they know exactly how their work will be graded. You may download a PDF version of this rubric here: Digital Storytelling Rubric While all of the students produced amazing work, I only have the space to highlight a few examples.
This one is an edited live action! ResearchWritingPlanning Like this: