In this example, Students engage in a basic case study on Shakespeare and some of his major dramas, both in Italian and English language.

Students use Animoto to create video afterfacts from the activity, which can be seen here.

What was the purpose of the activity?

The purpose of the activity was to introduce students, who were 12 and 13 years old, to Shakespeare as well as the cultural and historical background of the Elizabethan Age and the plots of some of his masterpieces (e.g. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth). Students also compared theaters were structured during Shakespeare’s time and in our modern conception.

After a lesson on Shakespeare in which they were shown some documentaries about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age, students were directed to visit the British Council’s website, where they could find an easy and engaging animation on the dramatist. The resources used included six of Shakespeare’s dramas with some interactive tasks to strengthen students’ specific vocabulary and knowledge of the plot and of the characters.

How the activity worked in the classroom?

The class was divided into six groups, each one dealing with one of Shakespeare’s six dramas introduced from the British Council’s website. Students were asked to create an animated presentation using Animoto, which would shown to all the other groups, and they would give comments and feedback. In this way the students would have learned something about Shakespeare, practiced English both written and orally and enriched their vocabulary.

The teacher reported that the activity was successful in that the overall quality of the Animoto presentations was good and that the students took the task seriously. The of having students cooperate in all the different phases was also achieved. The main drawback was the lack of time. With additional time the learning outcomes could have been more substantial, as the teacher felt that a presentation to the other groups was insufficient to let them acquire the content of the other presentations in a meaningful way. It was suggested that an post-presentation phase should be added, requiring students to take notes during the presentations or to let them ask questions of the presenters.

How to develop the technology skills?

One teacher had already used Animoto with another class and she had learning about it from training course. That teacher shared her skills with other teachers in the school.