Posted September 2007 Students animated during online festival
		Queensland students swapped pens and paper for computer animation software during this year’s Online Animation Festival. Almost 200 students submitted work, either as individuals or in a group, for the online competition run through the Learning Place by Smart Classrooms Mentors. The festival started with teachers participating in animation workshops and then sharing their new skills with students. During the festival, students also had the opportunity to chat online with Oscar-nominated Australian animator Anthony Lucas about animation as a career pathway.  A careeer in Animation (Senior chat)  Life as an Animation (Middle phase chat) Creator of The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, Mr Lucas told students the best thing about being an animator is seeing the characters live and breath. He also emphasised that a good story is crucial to good animation.

Using computer animation software and talking online with a professional animator are great examples of ICT use in the classroom.

View the animations …   mediasite (6min40sec)
Entries were from year 1 to year 12 students from schools across the state. It was pleasing to see entries from three special schools, with several as OAF award recipients. The four winning schools now have the OAF Awards Winner animated emblem on their school’s website.

Year 5 student Shayla has attended Mater Hospital Special School since January, after her dad was diagnosed with leukemia and the family moved to Brisbane to live in the Leukemia Village.

Her stop frame animation Morning Mishap was highly commended.

‘In Term 2 we learnt to make a film using stop go motion animation. When we had finished we had a big film awards ceremony,’ Shayla said. ‘We had an after party with lots of yummy food. Everyone was asking for my autograph and taking photos.’

Andrew, a 15-year-old autistic student at a Queensland special school, was also highly commended for his stop frame animation titled Puddle of Doom.

His teacher says when involved in animation, Andrew started talking and relating to other students and teachers for the first time. ‘Andrew carries around a wad of blue-tac for security or something to do when coming by bus to school,’ the teacher says. ‘He makes all these great creatures and people in no time flat so I thought we could re-channel his blue-tac mania into another more adult past time.

‘He was already being creative, so I thought why kill this. It was also a stroke of luck having a teacher aide who likes animation.’