Go.Animate.com-+Amy


 * media type="custom" key="6965281" || **Go!Animate**
 * What is it? **


 * Classroom Application**


 * Review of Software**


 * References** ||

**What is it/How does it work?**

Go!Animate is a free animation suite that is fully online. The site, Go!Animate.com, offers a completely free version of the software, which has a limited number of characters and backgrounds as well as GoPlus+ which allows for more characters and other features such as uploading image files and even integrating live action video into the animation. Between these two price points are the ala carte type services where, by purchasing GoBucks, you can add individual characters, props and backgrounds.

Animations may be narrated and scored by uploading recorded files or you may type text and have computer-generated speech narrate your animation.

The user begins by clicking Make an Animation. The option to create a character is also provided but this option is not free. It is not necessary to create an account to make an animation but you cannot save your work if you do not have an account.

A palette of characters, props, backgrounds, callouts and effects appears on the left hand side of the screen. The user builds the first frame of the scene by making selections from each area and dragging them to the "stage" in the center of the screen. To create another scene in the animation, the user scrolls down to display the timeline, clicks the thumbnail of the existing scene and selects "Copy". Next the user clicks the thumbnail again and selects either "Insert Before" or "Insert After". Once the next scene is inserted, the user can make adjustments to the appearance of that scene.

There is a Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and users have the option of saving a draft or publishing the animation. Additionally, the animation may be made public or private. Users can earn GoBucks by making their animations public.

There are options to download and embed the animation as well.

**Classroom Application** There are a growing number of animation creators available on the internet. A quick search of animation software on the popular download site CNET.com revealed over 125 different animation packages and plug-ins users may download for free. The application for the technology in an instructional setting is still being explored but it IS being investigated. In one study performed by the University of Sussex in 2007-2008, the researchers found a teacher using cartoon animations generated by her students to extend the meaning of classroom lessons based on student interest (Robinson & Sebba, 2009). Another report published in a 2005 edition of the Australian Educational Computing journal noted the efficacy of narration in multi-modal environments as a way to enhance student creativity and comprehension (Vincent & Rizzo, 2005).

The application of Go!Animate specifically could take many forms - depending on the target population. Middle school and high school students could generate animations as a way to convey understanding of an event or a procedure. The animated characters could "teach" the material the student wished to share and other characters in the animation could offer questions that could be addressed within the animated sequence. Because it is possible, for a small fee, to create characters that are highly customizable, it is possible for students to generate scenes from literature they have read and even hypothesize an alternate ending or twist to a story. This expression of an alternate outcome can reveal a student's understanding of the original literary source and provoke discussion about their offered alternative.

As a technology used to generate a group project, Go!Animate has many advantages. The cartoon is built from a palette of selections. The writing of the text for the storyline is independent of the animation yet the two elements must work in concert. Finally, the audio component can be very rich with four separate audio elements playing at any one time. Students may include recorded audio or type text that will become computer-generated audio. Each of these disparate segments of the project lend themselves to valuable individual contributions that are combined to create a cohesive final result. The application can be very motivating, especially if students have the opportunity to use their own voices to create voices for the characters. The fact that students must select appropriate backgrounds, props and characters as well as identify appropriate timings for each scene and typical movie elements such as close-up and panning shots requires a great deal of vision, problem-solving and production ability. Top of Page **Review of the Software** I have used other comic strip generating software, such as Toon-doo, (example at http://edportfolio.wikispaces.com/Ideas). I know that I had to experiment a bit to generate my first comic. Go!Animate had many pitfalls to trip me up in my creation of the animation. While the Community Stuff palette has a fair number of characters, and props, background options are very limited. Many of the screen elements and procedures I thought were standard, such as uploading an image file, were not available to me in the free version - but I could not find that noted anywhere. While I still think students might enjoy the opportunity to create their animated representation of an event or of themselves, I am not a fan of this application. I found the interface difficult to navigate and I believe that a less committed (or desparate) user would not invest as much time as I did to actually generate an animation. Top of Page ** ﻿References ** Robinson, C. & Sebba, J. (September 2009). Personalising learning through the use of technology. //Computers & Education, 54,// 767-775. Vincent, J. & Rizzo, J. (December 2005). Computer generated cartoon animating with upper primary students: Texts that cross the modes. //Australian Educational Computing, 20// (2), 35-38.