Day 6: Blabberize
Time for a little whimsy. Because who does not need a bit of whimsy now and then and what’s more whimsical than adorable talking pictures? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Enter, Blabberize!
Blabberize is a fun little web-based app that lets you animate still images and make them talk. This is called a Blabber. You can use the app without a log-in or you can create an account and save your work. Watch my masterpiece below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhYNNL6iif0]
To create a Blabber, you simply upload a photo, give it a mouth, and add your voice. You control the size of the mouth and how much it opens by using control dots. It takes some trial and error to make things look just right but it is not hard. You can even add additional mouths if there is more than one character doing the talking. However, they all say the same thing at the same time so it is a bit creepy… but in a fun way.
Once your mouth is set, record your sounds or message. You can record on the fly or upload a pre-recorded file. When your recording is done, your Blabber is complete. If you have an account, you can save it for later or download it as a movie file. If you do not have an account, you can still play but you cannot save your work.
A few things to think about when using Blabberze. It does require Adobe Flash Player to run. Also, if you want to keep your Blabbers private, be sure to check that box when you save your work. There are adds embedded in the app, which can be annoying but the app is free so that’s pretty typical. Just be aware of the adds when you work with students.
Aside from being a fun little bit of nonsense, Blabbers can actually be useful in the classroom. Here are just a few ideas off the top of my head.
- Images of famous people quoting a famous speech.
- “About me” presentations.
- Talking book characters.
- New twist on digital stories.
- App smash with video editing apps and create a movie.
There are many more fun possibilities. Read this post from Emerging Ed Tech for even more ideas. I especially love the talking moose doing a report on moose. Adorable, whimsical and informative.
So, start blabbing and make a Blabber using Blabberize.