Effective Uses of Animation

Animations are an excellent way to show events or processes over time or to help students visualize three-dimensional objects.

Good Animation Examples

Aon Celtic Knotwork Tutorial Animation - A looping sequence (limited to 5 times) which shows how to construct knotwork from a grid. Additional Knotwork Tutorials are also available.

Japanese Katakana Writing Tutor - Click on a sound to see how to write it in Katakana. The Japanese Writing Tutor covers other scripts.

Battle of Hastings (Essential Norman Conquest) - Shows Battle of Hastings as it progressed through the day.

Animated Bayeux Tapestry - This clever video scrolls across the Bayeux tapestry, but animates the characters in each scene. See Halley’s comet streak across the sky! See the Norman cavalry charge! Hosted at Daily Motion.

Flash Animations

Flash allows you to customize animations show stages and detailed sequences. The Flash plug-in is required for these.

Infant Stepping Reflex (Penn State M.T.O.) - This animation shows a baby making stepping motions when held upright by the shoulders.

What is a Print? - Shows animations of four ways to create a print. Form the Museum of Modern Art.

University of Iowa Phonetics - Animations show articulation of sounds in English, Spanish and German.

Bad Animation Experiences

These are satiric sites, so the bad animation is part of the fun. But they show how animations can be a distraction from the content.

Skip Intro - A site demonstrating a typical Flash animated intro.

Bring Back the Shamrock Shake - A plea for McDonalds to return the mint shake for St. Patrick's Day. Note the jittery shamrocks.

Map of South Wales - Rollover place names to see animated icons with audio depicting the "attractions" of Wales.

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