Animation

What is it?

Stop-motion (or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique which makes a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved by small amounts between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop-motion animations, known as claymation. Stop-motion animation also includes cell animation, pixilation, puppet animation, and time-lapse.

What does it look like?

Students at Rosehill Secondary College developing animations

What's happening in Victorian schools?

• Slow down (Rosehill Secondary College 2008) - This project built on the research and work of Gary Hoban. A team of teachers developed and is now using an ICT learning design with a focus on the purposeful use of ICT at Year 7 and 8. Through the implementation of a ‘learning design’ to support their learning, students were guided in how to structure a digital environment. Students produced slow-motion animations. As the responsibility for designing and making animations was shifted from the experts to the students, deeper learning occurred and students were able to identify the key elements, steps and components required. See: Students using animation
• Science animation competition (2010) - In 2008, a state-wide science animation competition was sponsored by the Innovation and Next Practice Division (DEECD) and run through the Hume regional office. The competition encouraged students to explore science principles and document their findings through short (30 second) films or animations. Entries submitted described concepts such as thermal properties, transformation of a tadpole to a frog, respiration, phototropism, why the sky is blue, and pollution. For details of the 2010 competition, see: Australian National 2010 Science Video competition
• Nanotechnology animation (Roxburgh College, 2007) - Secondary school students developed a short animation depicting the possibilities for detecting and fighting cancer with the aid of nanotechnology.
• Musical theory animations (Vermont Primary School, 2006) - Primary school students developed a series of eight musical theory animations teaching all the necessary skills to play the recorder. The animations were created using Macromedia Flash MX
• ScreenIT past winners - The ScreentIT competition is an annual school animation, gaming or film competition for all Australian schools. The competition is co-sponsored by DEECD. For a small cost, teachers purchase kits with all the necessary resources to develop competition entries. Prizes are awarded at the end of each year. For details of the competition and past entries see: ScreenIT - ACMI competition. 

 

Working online

Kerpoof

How it works: Kerpoof allows users to create and share pictures, movies, drawings, cards or stories. Lesson plans and ideas for using the site are also available for teachers.

Keeping safe: Kerpoof has information for teachers who are now able to create their own community of users who do not need to provide individual email accounts to save their work and share it with others.All user content and communication on the Kerpoof site is filtered and monitored. The site aims to be child appropriate and states 'we avoid content that most people would find even mildly inappropriate as well as content related to sensitive subjects.’ Individual users who sign up are asked to provide a parent or guardian's email address for verification purposes. Teachers are encouraged to create a teacher account, from which they can set up class and student accounts for greater safety and ease of management.

Rollermache

How it works: Rollermache allows users to create their own animations. Browse clips, create story boards, develop characters and experiment with props. Rollermache has been designed for use in regional Australian schools. 

Keeping safe: Once users have registered to become a rollercoaster/rollermache member they need to wait one day for their username to be approved and are then able to upload their own media. All content that appears on the site has been watched and approved by an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) moderator before it appears on the site.

Zimmer Twins

How it works: Zimmer Twins allows users to watch or create their own movies. It includes movie starters and a helpful tutorial on how to create a movie. Movies can be saved to the site and then viewed by others.

Keeping safe: All shared movies are moderated and guidelines for appropriate content are provided. Users are encouraged to use a nickname rather than their real name.