Animoto

[|Animoto]is an online media tool that can be used to make videos from still pictures. These videos can be downloaded to YouTube, or the video can be downloaded to a blog, website or other online space.

In this case, the widget is the lightweight media player that displays the video.

Teachers can get an educational free account to use for longer videos. Short videos can be made for free by anyone. The samples below are the first ones I made. I had never used any software like this, so you can see that the online interface is very easy to use.

Sample video shorts:

[|ONCE A GIANT] A trip to see Big Brutus, in SE KS:

media type="custom" key="828299"

[|FOSSIL HUNTER IN PERU] Fossil hunting trip to Peru w/colleagues and assistants

media type="custom" key="828305"

Compare these Animoto videos to my first attempt to capture a beautiful view of nature. media type="youtube" key="Ngtz4HTufsc&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"