I love learning! Whether it is when I learn new techniques with tech tools or when kids learn new tactical plays in hockey – I simply love it when people learn. In my role as teacher consultant for technology, I have countless situations in which I learn something from students. It was just the other day when I learned how to animate with keynote from a grade 10 student at McMath Secondary. I was in the school supporting the use of iMovie while the students were making book trailers for the stories they read. One student was sharing some clips on his youtube channel and I noticed he had branded all of his videos with a little introductory animation. I asked how he did this and this is what I learned:
1. Open a new Keynote presentation and select the ‘Showroom’ or ‘White’ theme.
2. Delete the two text boxes on the first page to get a clear white page.
3. Select a shape (e.g. square) from the ‘Shapes’ icon in the toolbar and resize / change color. Note that the following can also be done with a text box or with an imported image. Check out the below animation made by your’s truly using imported images.
4. Open the ‘Inspector’ window and click on the ‘Build Inspector’ button (yellow diamond). Make sure the shape on your screen is selected.
5. Click on ‘Build In’ and below that button, select the effect. Try them all to see which one you like.
6. Once the object is on the screen, you can also make it move in a straight line or arc. The path (red line in the below image) your object travels can be edited by repositioning the handles on the path, and the speed can be changed by modifying the duration.
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Moving an object in an arc with Keynote |
7. For multiple movements, program a series of ‘Moves’ that automatically happen one after another. Use the add action button for this.
8. Tap on the ‘More Options’ button at the bottom of the ‘Inspector’ window and a drawer will slide open. Tap on the first build and the bottom, select wheter you want the build to happen automatically or with a tap of the keyboard/trackpad. I usually select automatically for all of them. You can also select the delay time between each build.
9. Close the drawer and then hit the ‘Play’ button in the top left of the toolbar.
10. To convert the animation to a movie, click File>>Export>>QuickTime and save the movie to your computer.
The below video is a screencast of the process for making a simple animation with Keynote.
How to create a simple animation with Keynote
This ability to do simple animations can be used in various situations, but the value in sharing this is allowing the students to be creative with technology and experiment with different effects. We all learn by trying out new things, and this is no exception. Give it a try with your students.