Last year, I launched the initiative to move elementary teachers to Blogger for their website. It is an effective communication tool for teachers to share learning, projects or any event happening in the classroom. Ms. Abbee, Wayne Center Elementary, particularly likes the opportunity to share classroom happenings. I get frequent emails asking how she can continue to reach out to the families of her classroom. Click here to get a little taste of what Blogger can provide for a teacher website.
If you talk to Ms. Abbee, she will tell you that the most effective way to get a family involved with your blog is to post images. Parents love to see what is happening. If you blog frequently and include images, they will visit your site.
Animoto allows users to create 30-second slideshows for free. (There is an option to have longer videos at a cost.) This video features how to create a video using the website from your web-browser:
Animoto does support embed codes. However, many of my teachers prefer to have their videos on Youtube. The reason: Blogger allows the user to access their Youtube account without using embed codes. Animoto provides a direct upload to Youtube. You can do this with any browser by logging into animoto.com. After it is uploaded, you can post it on your Blogger blog without an embed code.
If you have an iPad, Animoto just made everything a lot easier. Their app provides the convenience of uploading all your videos straight from your camera roll. (The same goes for the Android app.) You cannot upload to Youtube from the app. However, you can go in through Safari (or Chrome) and visit the web-based version to upload to Youtube.
Feel free to send some links to your Animoto videos or your blog to me when you try this. I'd like to see how you are enhancing your teacher website with images and video.
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