Xtranormal (A Text-to-Video Tool)

UPDATE: As of 2013, Xtranormal is no longer available. If you created an Xtranormal video and uploaded it to YouTube, then you can continue to use that video. However, sadly, we cannot make any more Xtranormal videos. Check out Voki as a possible substitute (see my May 2014 post).



According to the website, "Xtranormal instantly turns your words into a 3D animated movie." This is a text-to-video tool. You can create a little animated movie just by choosing a setting and character(s) (maximum 2). Then you type the monologue or dialogue that you want your character(s) to speak. You can add some other touches, but these are the basics. Once you publish it, your dialogue is animated into a little movie. The voices are little robotic, but nobody seems to mind.

One tricky aspect of using Xtranormal is the currency they have you use to "buy" characters and settings and also to publish your videos. The currency is called XP, and you automatically receive some when you create your free basic account. However, if you intend to make many movies, you will quickly go through your free XPs. If you want more, you will have to buy them.

Xtranormal is another example of a tool that clearly was not created for educational purposes, but it's easy to imagine the ways you could use it to stimulate creative language practice with your students:

• Create a video introducing yourself to your students or informing them about some aspect of class. (Have fun choosing the actor who will play you.)
• Have students write a dialogue in English and then animate it in Xtranormal. A possible extension to this idea is to have the students also perform the dialogue in class.

What other creative ideas can you see for using Xtranormal with your English language learners?

Eyejot ("Video Mail in a Blink")

The Eyejot website describes the tool as "video email in a blink." You can use it to make a video of yourself from your computer and then email that video to people. All you need is a computer with internet access, a webcam and the email address(es) of the person(s) you want to send the video email to. The best part is it's absolutely free.

I doubt Eyejot was designed with education in mind, but it can certainly have academic applications:

• The teacher could send an email to his/her students introducing him/herself before the class even begins so that the students will come in a little more curious and maybe relaxed about meeting their new teacher. This is called a "premail." 
• The teacher could also send the students video reminders or announcements about the class. 
• The teacher could teach the students how to use the tool, and the students could send the teacher a video for practice and feedback (and a grade?) in oral language use.

Can you think of another academic use for Eyejot in the language classroom?

Welcome to My Blog

As an ESL teacher at a community college, I have an interest in emerging technology concepts and tools that can be used in my teaching and with my students. As an educator, I am interested in emerging technologies that are reshaping the concept of education as we know it. I am constantly learning about new technology as I attend workshops, read articles, and talk to colleagues. More often than not, I find myself scribbling new tech leads onto little pieces of paper that are scattered around my office in one folder or another. The purpose of this blog is to centrally organize these leads on new technology into one place and to share them with others that might be interested in their use in the second or foreign language classroom (or maybe you are using them already). I welcome comments from others who have heard of or are using technologies that are explored in this blog. How are you using them? Who are you using them with? Are they worth the learning curve and time invested in training your students to use them? What impact do they have on your teaching and your students' learning?