PuppetMaster - A Great App for Creating Animated Movies

PuppetMaster is a free iPad app that kids can use to create animated movies. The app is designed for elementary school students and therefore doesn't require students to create accounts in order to use it. All movies made with the PuppetMaster app are saved to the camera roll on a student's iPad.

To create an animated movie with PuppetMaster students simply open the app, select a character, and the select a background scene for their movies. PuppetMaster has pre-made characters and background scenes. Students can also add their own background scenes by taking a picture to use as the background. For example, I made a movie with a robot character attempting to reach under the Christmas tree in my living room (you can view that movie here).


Students can record themselves talking or singing in the background of their movies in order to tell their stories. Or in the case of one video that I made with PuppetMaster, you can record a baby crying in your video.


Applications for Education
PuppetMaster could be a great app for students to use to animate stories that they write. You could have students use the app to create an animation of a favorite story that they've recently read. Or you might consider using the app to get students to tell a personal story through the use animated characters.

The Old Man and the Sea - Animated

Open Culture has just published a list of seventeen classic stories that have been turned into animated videos that are now available on the web. A few of the items in the list I had seen before, these Shel Silverstein stories for example, but others were new to me. One of the animations that I particularly like is this animated telling of The Old Man and the Sea.


Applications for Education
These animated videos could be help some students gain a better understanding of the overall themes of some classic works. The videos could also be used as a model for students to create their own animated or claymation videos about stories that they're reading in your classroom. If you're interested in learning how to create claymation and stopmotion movies check out Kevin Hodgson's Making Stopmotion Movies website.