While the concept of cartoons as educational took a beating a few years when a U.S. broadcaster tried to sell the Jetsons as a pedagogic look into the future, some programs really can teach. Cosmo S. Spacely notwithstanding. Re: the educational value of digital video and animation: I Can Animate (from the minds of software developer Kudlian Soft), has been recognized as the Best Primary ICT software by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) at the annual Education Resources Awards (ERAs).
The winners were announced last Friday at the Motorcycle Museum, NEC, in Birmingham, England.
The Mac-platform I Can Animate is a cross-curriculum application which provides tools to create animated movies using professional stop-motion techniques. In a statement, the ERA judges–a panel of 25 education professionals’lauded the software as a “totally accessible route to animation for children, with the ‘wow’ factor. It allows you to create stunning movies using a variety of animation techniques, encouraging creativity and 21st century ICT skills.”
I Can Animate is for children ages 5 and up and provides schools with an opportunity for students to present their work in an alternative, new and exciting way. The program also enables teachers using computers to make full use of digital video for educational purposes.
Students can import their movies to iMovie and add sound, music, special effects, titles and transitions to finish their own professional looking movie. Digital Video and animation can be incorporated throughout the curriculum, from media studies, science, geography to citizenship and design and technology to enhance teaching and learning, introducing a creative approach to all subjects.
I Can Animate needs a Mac running Mac OS 10.3 or later. The software is available from Kudlian Soft for approximately US$62 for a single-user licence. A full site licence is available for approximately US$527. Recommended cameras include a Firewire-based webcam, such as an iSight, or a digital video camcorder. A demonstration copy of I Can Animate and more info can be found at www.kudlian.net
