What would you rather do to grab your students’ attention? Write a word problem on the board or create a short video of the same word problem, using GoAnimate? I choose GoAnimate! More and more, I have geared my Math lessons toward problem solving, and away from numbers on a page or a worksheet. I want my students to problem solve. When I watch them work to solve a “real world” problem, it makes me proud.
So, how did I get to match GoAnimate with problem solving? I was trying to think of a way to start a unit with a Math problem that introduced the unit, and grabbed their attention. I thought of GoAnimate, which I was familiar with, but hadn’t used in a while. It is very simple to use. They have tons of characters and templates that you can use. You can use your own voice or type in the words. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. You can use the FREE version, GoPlus, or GoAnimate4schools. I have a GoPlus account and a GoAnimate4schools account.
I love the fact that GoAnimate works with social media. You can embed, tweet, Facebook, upload to Youtube, or download. Of course, some of these privileges only come with GoPlus. There is also a FREE and premium account when you are using Gonimate4schools. The premium account allows you to create accounts for your students, and moderate the accounts. I’m going to plead with my principal to pay for that for my classroom. 🙂 I will definitely have my students create their own videos, which will be very interesting, not to mention educational, and lots of fun!
Give GoAnimate a try, and see if you can’t grab their attention!
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER 
Comments on: "GoAnimate Grabs Their Attention:Bringing a Math Problem to Life!" (7)
This is such a cute idea. I can see my homeroom class running with such an activity. The only problem… I don’t teach math. 😦 My 4th grade team departmentalizes, and although I like all of the women on my team, (in my opinion) our math teacher is the weakest link when it comes to teaching to today’s learners. She teaches “old school”, where the students are expected to sit at a desk and work quietly. So, I have a question for your readers…. How do I begin to suggest such activities to her without offending her? I realize I’ll never move her to the other end of the teaching spectrum, but would love for my kids to look forward to math class. They are so tired of the same ‘ol same o…. HELP!
Thanks Wendy. Keep in mind you can use this for any subject, just adapt it. Maybe you can use it for another subject, and then show it to her. Or show your students how to create one, and let them show her, she might like it. 🙂
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Wow, that is really neat. I did not know that there was a way to create video clips like that and get the students interested. I can already see, if I can figure out how to make one, my students will be next! Great!
DeEtte