Fun « Moovl – just add imagination

Moovl summer school

July 20, 2007 at 4:51 pm | In Events, Fun, Moovl development | Leave a Comment

We’ve decided to launch a Moovl Summer School for a select group of lucky children (sorry, it’s invite only, but you can still try the demo version from the home page).

We’re hoping Moovl will help to while away a rainy hour (of which I think there will be plenty in the coming weeks) – and hopefully we’ll get some good feedback on Moovl from the children who try it out.

To help things along, there’s now a new tab at the top of the page (called, imaginatively ’summer school’). We’ll use this to post some hints and tips to get people started, but also to showcase some of the drawings (as long as they’re happy to share them).

Moo Moo Moovl

July 19, 2007 at 2:58 pm | In Fun | 2 Comments

Thanks go to the folks at Odeworld for pointing me in the direction of MOO.

MOO is a new kind of printing company that:

dreams up new tools that help people turn their virtual content into beautiful print products.

They very cleverly link to other community websites (like Flickr or Bebo or SecondLife), and let you design and organise your own cards online. Then they print them and send them to you. Great for parties, business cards, invitations, celebrations, mementos, postcards…

I have to admit at this point that I haven’t yet sampled the goods, but with a name like MOO, what could possibly go wrong? I’ve designed and ordered one hundred Moovl MiniCards. The MiniCards are quite small (28mm by 70mm if that means anything to you), but for me that adds to their desirability. It is probably a side-effect of what MOO are aiming for, but the miniature size will also (I suspect) appeal very well to children. It also (and I’m sure this is not a side-effect) makes them very collectible.

Here are some of the pictures I used:

The cards should be here in a few days and I’ll post some pics when they arrive.

Fun curriculum idea

July 16, 2007 at 7:57 am | In Animation, Fun, How to | 2 Comments

I’ve been experimenting recently combining Moovl with other creative tools to make ‘mini-animations’.

The drawings and animations in this film were done by my son (who is 8) in Moovl. We then screen-captured them using CamStudio and imported them into Windows MovieMaker. My son added his own voiceover, and I helped with the transitions, titles and credits.

Because the animation tools in Moovl are intuitive and designed with children in mind, my son got to grips with them immediately. The other tools we used would probably require teacher-intervention to get the best from them, though I’m sure there are movie-making tools designed specifically for younger children.

Although this was an ‘after-school’ activity, it does help to incorporate the use of ICT into other curriculum areas, for example art and design (eg pupils apply their experience of materials and processes, including drawing, developing their control of tools and techniques). Simon Mills’s ICT Inspirations blog has lots more thoughts and examples of using animation and film-making in the primary curriculum.

Anyway here is our effort… it may not be Oscar material yet, but we had a lot of fun (and a little learning) along the way.

Competition!

July 10, 2007 at 3:31 pm | In Events, Fun, Moovl development | Leave a Comment

We’ve decided that next term (from September) we’re going to launch a national competition for Moovl. We’ll be asking Primary schools across the UK to take part – and will be providing a free trial of Moovl so they can get started right away.

All teachers need to do is ask pupils to create an animation of an aspect of daily life – either at school or home – showing how they could make life more energy efficient or environmentally friendly. Using Moovl, pupils can work individually, in groups or as a whole class with teacher support. Winning entries will be judged on the best combination of Moovl’s unique online functions and the greenest ideas.

The competition will run from September until November, with the winners announced at BETT. More details of how to enter will appear here over the Summer.

If you can’t wait until then, you can try the demo version of Moovl - or sign up for a 30-day free trial.

Anyone for tennis?

July 2, 2007 at 11:46 am | In Animation, Fun, How to | Leave a Comment

Inspired by Wimbledon, though not necessarily the British performances, I used Moovl to create a little game myself. First of all I drew the two players, then a ball (which I made very bouncy). Then I animated the two tennis rackets and let them get on with it.

Although mainly for fun, this activity shows how the physical properties of Moovl (like the hardness of the rackets, or the heaviness of the ball), can interact quite nicely with the animation effects (the loop of the players’ shots).

Next time I’ll add some rain…

Drag and draw

June 28, 2007 at 6:34 pm | In Animation, Fun | Leave a Comment

Thanks to Andy Polaine’s Playpen blog for pointing me in the direction of this very fun prototype from Philips called Drag and Draw.

The video shows a child interacting with a set of technology that allows them to draw objects on the wall with ‘light’. In addition, a little like Moovl, the pictures can then be moved around. Unfortunately it’s not clear exactly how all the pieces of technology work together to create the effect, but visually it’s stunning.

Also reminded me of MIT Media Lab’s I/O Brush.

Spaceman

June 13, 2007 at 11:48 am | In Fun, How to, Science | Leave a Comment

Inspired by NASA’s recent spacewalk to repair the International Space Station I created a little Moovl experiment…

I created three identical men. Then I made the one on Earth quite heavy (for gravity) and quite sticky (to simulate air resistance). I made the one on the Moon lighter, and slippier. Then I made the one in space ultra-light and ultra-slippy.

As you would expect the Earthman managed a small jump, and came to rest quickly. The Moonman jumped higher and took longer to settle back down. And the spaceman… well, let’s just say I’m still looking.