Community reviews for Animoto: Slideshow Maker

I think this is really simple took to create a slideshow, trailer. etc. I like how the website does most of the work of giving you a couple of options for fonts, transitions, and music which allows the student to focus more on the content of their slideshow.

Since they dropped the Android app, I've lost interest. I get that they have support costs but having a flat world view (it only exists in ios or the web) is myopic. Won't be endorsing this or recommending to future students.

I think this app is less of a teaching tool in the traditional sense and more of a teaching presentation tool for teachers and students. With a full gallery of pictures a user can create a basic video presentation in a matter of 15 minutes; the creation of a more detailed presentation with captions would take more time. I feel the templates for the animations and song choices for background music that are provided with the app provide enough options for students to create animations that are able to impact the audience. The app does not have a full tutorial, but the help buttons throughout make it user friendly. The option to share the videos through a variety of sources will provide students with multiple ways for them to take pride in their creations.

The students had to figure out how to convey a message in two minutes. They had to research their topic and cite their sources before they were able to create the public service announcement video. Project based learning works and the use of Animoto helped the students create a student generated product.

I enjoyed my students going through the process of creating book trailers. It allows all students in spite of their academic challenges to create and display what they were learning. The app promotes creativity and a variety of presentations.

I'm disappointed in the new pricing structure. Animoto used to be free for education, and I can't recommend it when it is cost-prohibitive.

I love this app and the recent project we created. I have done many more with students and even use the app when creating slideshows for their parents, a personal project or marketing for the school. There are paid subscriptions that allow to make longer movies, have access to more templates and be able to download our movie in different formats. There is also an Education license for teachers and educational discounts.

I believe that Animoto could have used other way to show their advertisement instead of putting the logo right in the middle of the ready videos, forcing the purchase of the paid version. There is other software available that would not have this “detail” in the ready products and we might want to choose one that has the advertisement in a place that does not cause problems for the viewer. To start the software, it is not so easy. It is not actually for little students, but I tried. It worked but I had to give extra support. There are few apps that are destined to little kids and the use of videos out of photos. For it to be great with students, it would be necessary to have demo videos.

I love it, and the company will give you a six month trial for free with your students. It's definitely worth a try.

I was surprised to find the grade range was 7th - 12th. I have used Animoto with my 1st grade students for many years. It is very easy to use and I can see how it could be used with student of any age. I use this tool as a method of informal assessment. It is not particularly great for learning something new about a topic, but anytime students are exposed to technology they are learning something. Through this application students learn how to handle adding pictures, video, and music. They are using what they learned by writing information to go with the pictures. They are learning to produce something for others to see and comment on. It is an authentic method for students to show others what they know.