Co-create an animated dictionary for language learners

The idea of having a video-based dictionary for action vocabulary isn’t anything new, but I thought I would do a short guide on how to co-create an animated dictionary with your students using animated GIFs and Padlet.

Creating animated GIFs

• You have two choices here: create your own videos or find royalty-free / public domain videos that you can use freely.
  • You could have your students create videos using cameras or phones and then upload them to a computer to play back. This can be a bit tricky since each device will have it’s own system of uploading videos, but if you have your own set at school or students know how to use their own devices, this can be a very effective way of having students negotiate the language or to discover new words on their own.
  • Public domain and royalty-free videos can be found online, but some sites are not as safe as others. Here are a few I recommend:
    • National Park Service
    • Videvo
    • XStockVideo
• Once you have the video on your computer, you can start creating an animated GIF using the instructions I created here.

Creating your animated dictionary using Padlet

• You will need to have a Padlet account.
• Create a new pad using the instructions from the guide and give the link to the students.
• Students visit the page and upload their GIFs.
  • They can either double-click anywhere on the Pad and then click on the up arrow button to choose the file from the computer.
  • They can also just drag-and-drop the file onto the Pad.

• Once uploaded, students move their mouse of the GIF to bring up the pencil icon at the top of the GIF. Click on the pencil to add the action name in the title box and a sample sentence showing its use in the description area. They then can click anywhere outside the GIF to get out of edit mode
• Students can move the GIF by simply clicking-and-dragging it anywhere on the Pad. You could organize this any way you like.
• Students can resize the GIF by dragging the corners of the image.
• People can see the full-size image by clicking on the GIF.

I have created a sample page that you can use to play around and try this out on your own. Please keep it clean. 🙂

Sample Padlet