Yesterday my 7th Grade Social Studies students finished a PBL (Problem-Based Learning) unit about the 13 Colonies. They were tasked with recruiting European settlers to live in their assigned colony. The culminating activity included a detailed written brochure, using Microsoft Publisher, and a digital story "TV commercial," using my free "All-Access" educator Animoto account. Animoto automatically analyzes the music (they provide copyright-free songs), photos and video clips that student's choose, and orchestrates a custom video.
I've been using the site for just over a year. Last night I read on Mashable that Animoto has grown to over 2 million members! Here's the article: http://mashable.com/2010/11/03/animoto-2/.
Below are some examples of student work:
