This morning campers in the AT&T Classroom created an “App Smash” project. “App Smash” has become an increasingly popular term to describe the process of using multiple apps in combination to complete a task or create a project. The process of App Smashing encourages children’s creativity and problem solving skills as they work among multiple tools to design media and express themselves. This morning in the AT&T Classroom the campers were introduced to two tools they “mashed” together to create an animation project - Pic Collage for Kids, and ChatterPix Kids. Also known as Pic Kids for short, Pic Collage for Kids is a free app for creating scenes and collages with photos taken with an iOS device. The app was designed specifically for students of elementary and middle school ages as an alternative to the original Pic Collage app. Both apps offer access to a tremendous gallery of backgrounds, stickers and customizable fonts for creating photo projects. With Pic Kids, children are able to conduct safe-filter Internet image searches and social media sharing features are removed. ChatterPix is a free iOS app that can be used to animate an object within a photo so that it can “talk”. Children are able to draw a mouth on an object in a photo and then record themselves talking. The object’s mouth animates and moves with the voice recording.
To create their animations, the campers used the Safari search engine app on their iPads to select a photo of an object or animal to act as the character for their animation. Next, the campers pulled their image into the Pic Kids app to customize their character’s image using the app’s stickers and drawing tools. Campers then pulled their character’s image into the ChatterPix app and used the app’s drawing tool to create a mouth for their character.The app also offers stickers and graphics children can add to their photo for customization. The campers then used the app’s microphone feature to record themselves providing voice-over for their animated character. The campers were excited to present their animations on the big screen.
Later this morning the campers used KidPix 3D to create animated scenes.Kid Pix 3D is a multimedia program that allows children to create animated stories and projects by drawing or painting with digital tools. The program offers access to multi-layered 3D backgrounds, 3D animations and over 100 video backgrounds. Children are also able to add their own narration to their project. Free trial downloads and pricing plans are accessible at the Kid Pix/Mackiev software website.
The campers also enjoyed working with Glowing! - a free iOS app for creating colorful graphics and animated light shows. The app offers an intuitive interface with drawing and design tools for creating animations that can be played back and shared online.
