Animoto, Xtranormal and MashFace

MashFace

MashFace is an interesting tool that gives entertainment for students while learning. It is a website that enables the user to add video segments into a photograph. This means that the learners can add their voice and mouth to a picture of any character. In order to use this web program the user requires a web-cam and a microphone. Finally, it interacts with YouTube in order to share the mashes with people that not necessarily have an account in MashFace.

Xtranormal

Xtranormal is an online program allows making animated videos by typing a script and choosing character and scenario options. It is basically used for monologues or conversations. It guides in a clear way the manner that the user is supposed to create the movies. Also, it gives many options that allow learners to be creative; they can create characters and settings, change the position of the cameras, and change the voices. This program allows you to upload videos to YouTube. There is information from different blogs that have spoken about the utilities of this website in the classroom, such as Peachey (2008). He states that this site can offer many possibilities for students to exercise different activities of language use. The researcher has also used this website for small scale projects and has found that Xtranormal motivates students to do written tasks.

Animoto

Animoto is an online video-making site that allows learners to create picture and sound videos. The purpose of this program is to create presentations that mix pictures with sound. It can be used to create stories or presentations about different topics. This is a friendly using site and very secure, because it only allows the user to see its videos, however you can also share the videos you create with YouTube. One of the great aspects of Animoto is that it has a special site for animations. In this website: http://education.animoto.com/ there are examples on how teachers have been using this online program in and outside the classroom. Swiatek (2008) remarks the use of this site for children; he states that it is a great way for our “digital age” students to produce and share knowledge.