The Fantastic Toontastic to Create Animated Films!

In this rich digital world we live in, we are exposed to visuals more than every before. We engage with visuals more than text and children especially seem to engage watching endless Youtube videos, films, TV shows etc. One thing we should be teaching children is that the only way to get decent visual media is to write decent content first.

When children are given the opportunity to transform their writing from lifeless text on the page to a digital story, it motivates them, gives them a purpose and the opportunity to develop a range of other important skills.

This approach underpins a lot of my ideas on the blog and also the READWRITEPERFORM approach.

A new app I have discovered which is a fantastic way for children to make their own animated films is Toontastic 3D.

This FREE app from Google allows children to draw, animate, and narrate their own cartoons. This video made by the guys behind the app gives you an insight into how the app works:

The app is so easy and simple to use.

• You start by choosing the type of story you want to tell.

• You are then given a story mountain to help you structure your story.

• You tap on the beginning and then choose your setting. You are given the option to draw your own.

• You can then add characters to the scene. Again there is the option to draw your own or use the camera to add yourself to the story.

• You can click start and the iPad will record anything you say and anything you do on the screen including moving the characters, their limbs, tapping on them to perform a gesture or holding down on the character to make their mouth move.
• Once the recording has finished, you have a variety of soundtracks to choose from to enhance the scene further.

• The finished project can be exported to the camera roll to be shared and evidenced through a range of tools.

Some of my Year 6 pupils were tasked with transforming some of their fantastic story writing into an animated film. Here are a couple of their efforts:

The opportunities for use in class is immense, storytelling has never been so much fun! But the opportunities for presentations, explanations and other non-fiction texts.