Animoto

What is Animoto?
This video tool is great for students to make a quick commercial video or other such video.  The free version allows for 30 seconds of video time.  The tool allows students to add images and text as an animated slide show which looks like a video.  It could be used to tell a short digital story.  I've posted an example below, where I won the "Golden Pixel Award", to show how it works.

Pros
There is a free version.  It is a fairly easy tool to use and enables the user to retrieve a file in addition to having a URL.

Cons
Free version is limited.  The music you select may not match well with your slides, so playing with the image slides and the song may requie several publications and viewings.

Golden Pixel Award - Japan - Spring 2011In my first Instructional Design course, I won a competition for an Animoto video.  The video was created shortly after the earthquake in Japan and I dedicated it to my brother and his girlfriend who currently live in Japan.