Amy+Jones

an XTRANORMAL experience

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 * __ x.tra.nor.mal- __** //noun// 1.a web 2.0 tool that allows one to create animated videos with text to speech capabilities.

Why XTRANORMAL? Xtranormal allows one to create and bring any story to life. This tool can meet the needs of both teachers and students. For a teacher it brings excitement and keeps the students' attention during lessons. Any teacher of any subject can use this to animate concepts they are teaching. A Social Studies teacher can bring history to life with a modern day twist and writing teacher can animate good elements of a story. For students Xtranormal can bring new interest to their assignments and allow them to explore content and research in a new and fun way. This tool allows a student to animate their writing piece or present a science assignment with a twist. Overall this tool allows students to be creative and think outside the four walls of the classroom.



How XTRANORMAL? I teach Kindergarten through Second grade so my students would love these animated videos! I could use this tool to create stories about reading, math, social studies, and science concepts. I also believe I would use this tool more often to bring interest and understanding into my "Life Skills" lessons. Every day I teach my Special Education students different social and behavioral skills that they may not understand in certain situations. This tool would allow me to bring those situations to life through animation. Instead of doing social stories on paper, I can make the social stories come to life. I can create different situations that my students may encounter and show them how to positively react. I can also use this tool to illustrate different personal care topics such as hygiene and table manners.

XTRANORMAL Diversity This tool can be used to reach any student with any need. Teachers can create videos ranging from the topic covered to the language it is spoken in. This tool is effective for auditory and visual learners when a video is created for a lesson. It is effective for kinesthetic learners when the teacher allows the students to create their own videos. I have previously explained how I would use it in my Special Education classroom to meet behavioral needs and social skills. A teacher with ESL students may create videos containing multiple languages (two characters). If a teacher has a hearing impaired student they may upload the video onto YouTube and use the closed captioning option. When students use the tool to create assignments they will need to be properly trained. Some students may need more extensive training and assistance than others. This is a good project for the students to work on in pairs or small groups.

XTRANORMAL Disclaimer In order to create videos you must use a point system. You are given 300 points when you initially sign up and then you must buy more. I was able to create a very short and simple video using 150 points. There is a wide variety of options when creating videos, but you must have a large number of points in order to use some of those options.



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Sources: All pictures were taken from the Xtranormal web site. The font was taken from Microsoft Word. The video was created by Amy Jones.