Music Technology in Education

At the PMEA Summer Conference, I had a chance to speak with David Warlick about technology and some of the great new sites that are out there. One of the sites he mentioned to me was a great site called Animoto.

The site is a great way for your students (and you) to create movies using images that you upload from your computer (or from a social networking site like Facebook) as well as music. Once you have selected the photos and music you’d like to include in your movie, Animoto does the rest. Using an algorhythm that was created by some film producers, the software then creates a movie with some great animation that analyzes both the photos and the music to make a pretty awesome video. Here is one that I created using some photos of students that participated in the Kaossilator Orkestra project that I ran last Spring.

One word of caution, while you are permitted to upload any files (images and audio), I urge you to be mindful of copyright laws. It is an infringement to include copyrighted images and music in your movies, so stick to your own photos and your original music (using something like GarageBand). The site urges you to “Love Your Artists” before uploading your musical selections. The site allows you to create 30 second videos for free, but offers an upgraded account (that is not free) that allows you to create full length videos. Once your video is finshed rendering, Animoto gives you some pretty powerful options, including being able to post your video on their site, or to sites such as YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook. Great stuff!

Animoto is the perfect tool for creating a video on any computer, without software. I strongly recommend checking out the site for yourself. Thanks David for turning me on to this great site!

I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions.