Cartoons, animations and presentations

ToonDoo: OK, so it is homework, but at least it's fun!

Below, some of the links I provided in a creative writing workshop I gave recently for Macmillan (and welcome to any of you who came/are coming in Girona, Lleida or Palma!).

Cartoons and animations

• Dfilm MovieMaker
• Toondoo.com
  
• Voki
• Zimmertwins
  

Note that Dfilm MovieMaker is possibly not suitable for young learners.

Presentations

• Animoto.com
  
• Prezi
• Voicethread
  

Personally, I have a preference for using good old Word, or even PowerPoint, or (best) a blog, for creative writing as I think that with some of the above your learners will end up spending more time on the technology and less time on the writing and the interaction in English (with the latter being what we're really trying to obtain in the language classroom)...

But I accept that, especially with younger learners, being able to animate things is probably more exciting, and hence more motivating and engaging and thus as likely as anything to produce learning.

Non-linear PowerPoint

PowerPoint: you can make it interactive!

As language teachers, you probably aren't big users of Microsoft PowerPoint. It might well be a tool you use for giving a talk or workshop at a conference or if, like me, you teach technology. But, as language teachers, using it is probably rapidly going to produce Death by PowerPoint and, in any case, you're not supposed to be lecturing your learners, are you?

As a workshop presenter, you certainly want to avoid inducing Death by PowerPoint, which is caused by -- among other things -- using too much text and too many bullet points per slide and then simply reading monotonously through it all, which your audience could have done at home on their own.

If you can make it an interactive presentation in some way, in which you respond to and dialogue with your audience, PowerPoint can nevertheless be a powerful tool. If, on the other hand, your audience has gone terribly quiet, best call the doctor quick -- for yourself.

Creating a non-linear presentation is one way to ensure that you respond not lecture. The following links came from the February 2009 issue of the Office Insider for Microsoft Office newsletter:

• Tailoring your message to the audience is everything!
• Relational Presentation: the visually interactive side of PowerPoint
  

If you're not that expert with PowerPoint, and want an easy way to allow yourself a non-linear PowerPoint presentation, you do have a "Go to" function which allows you to jump to whichever slide you want -- and not necessarily the next one:

Right-clicking in "Slide Show view" allows you to jump to whichever slide you want...

Make the learners make the PowerPoints
With learners, PowerPoint can be fun too -- for making presentations (eg. of the results of webquests), as well as for creative writing exercises.

With the latter, young learners love making multimedia stories with PowerPoint, including sound and images as well as text.

See also: Using PowerPoint Interactively in the Classroom