Need an idea for a club...try animation club

 Hey fellow teacher, are you feeling like leading a club is yet another "thing" just added to your plate and you are not feeling too passionate about it...I have been there!  

About me

I am a health and PE teacher...but I DO NOT have any interest in hosting a fitness club so I have been thinking out of the box. As a matter of fact, everything I do this year is "out of the box" because I find myself working at Empower Virtual Program and teaching Kindergarten through 8th grade. I was fortunate enough to attend the GA Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) and was INSPIRED by Tony Vincent to start an ANIMATION CLUB! 

SHAPEGRAMS- google drawing   (FYI  my school uses google suite products) 

Ready made...yes please! I started with an annual subscription to Shapegrams ($35) as a starting point. Tony Vincent has created some excellent ready to use lesson plans, google slides, google drawing worksheets, and YouTube videos! Worth every penny! 

*Side note: there are some FREE lessons and tutorials available to try out (free example)

I post the video tutorial along with the google drawing worksheet for each lesson.  Then during Animation Club time I spend time teaching through my own google slides lesson (lesson 3 example) that includes the Shapegrams info. 

In the shapegrams tutorials students will learn "pro tips" like:

• fill color, outline color, outline pixels
• hold down SHIFT to keep shapes symmetrical
• hold down SHIFT and click on shapes to group
• use red alignment lines to center objects
• use "order" to send to back or front for overlapping shapes
• rotate using degrees, flip horizontally/ vertically

ANIMATION- stop animation w/google slides  (FYI  my school uses google suite products)

FREE...yes please! I have students use their Shapegrams drawing as a starting point.  You can even encourage them to draw their own background/ scenery.  Then we take the drawing and background as a starting slide. 

CNTL + D is our friend! We learn how to make a slight change to one slide at a time and then duplicate the slide to make the next slight change. (lesson 2 example)

PRO-TIP: to play your animation slides...

• click present from beginning
• click on three dots
• select autoplay-loop-every second

Here is my example animation

STANDARDS- what's the why

Need some standards to attach to your lesson plans...ISTE standards are met with real world application. 

1.1. Empowered Learner

• 1.1.d. Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

1.4. Innovative Designer

• 1.4.b. Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
• 1.4.d. Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.

1.6. Creative Communicator

• 1.6.a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
• 1.6.b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.