Creating animation using Keynote
- primarytechreview
- Oct 31
- 4 min read
Apple's Keynote has potential for use far beyond students creating presentations. Using Keynote, students can also create animations, communicating their creativity and demonstrating their ideas about a topic! We explore some useful ways that Keynote can be used across the primary curriculum.
Reasons for using Keynote for animation
Keynote is a fantastic presentational tool. It allows children to organise their ideas on a topic and in a short time, create an attractive and engaging presentation.
But why use Keynote as a tool for creating animations?
Part of what makes Keynote ideal for primary animation is its simplicity. There are enough drawing tools for children to create some pretty amazing animations, but not so many drawing tools that they become burdened by settings and choice. Having tried several animation apps with primary-aged children, I would say that the results they achieve in Keynote are impressive and within a short amount of time, children will be using Keynote quickly, creatively and independently.
Keynote allows children to paste an image in, draw on top of this and then delete the image. I would say that this technique is key to success. Drawing on top of an image allows children to create an initial drawing that they are really proud of, leading to success in animation. The background image can be one they have chosen form online, or even a photo they have taken on an iPad.
Compared to apps created for 2D animation, Keynote has the extra step of having to press 'done' to finish a slide and then having to duplicate the slide, or open a new one. Initially, I thought this might be a burden, but I have been amazed at how quickly children pick this up. I certainly would not say that this process has held children back in creating their animations.
How to create animations in Keynote
To create an animation in Keynote, children will usually start a new presentation in Keynote and choose the blank background slides. If they choose a slide template with textboxes, these can be deleted by tapping on the border of the textboxes and selecting 'delete'.
Children will then usually insert a background image to guide their digital drawing. Drawing over an image can really enhance the quality of most of the animated work that children will produce.
Having completed their first drawing, children will tap 'done' and then either duplicate their first slide, or start a new slide. In most cases, duplicating the slide will be children's next step, since this allows them to erase and change the next slide to create an animation.
Once children have completed about ten slides (frames), they are able to press the 'export' button at the top of the screen. They should select 'animated GIF' and then save video. They must remember to select all of the slides when they make their animation. (This is the number one mistake children make - they only select the current slide). They can then choose the frames per second and export their video to the iPad Camera Roll.
Here is the finished result! I chose 30fps and set the auto advance almost all the way to the left hand side for a smooth, but faster animation.
Practical tips for teaching animations with Keynote
Give children a clear time limit for their first drawing (consider using a timer on the screen). This will help children to manage their time and ensure they have at least ten frames in their animation.
Encourage children to experiment with the different frames per second amounts when creating their videos. More frames per second makes a smoother animation, but too many frames per second will make the animation finish too quickly!
Show the children examples of animated work done using Keynote before asking them to start. These examples could be teacher-made or student-made. Showing children examples helps them be realistic, but ambitions about their own expectations.
Encourage children to make small changes for smoother animations.
More advanced animators will vary the camera position during the animation. Show children examples of how the camera changes in animations (i.e. close ups of faces).
Once animations are finished and exported, consider allowing children time to edit their videos using iMovie. This could involve adding text, voice recordings or music.
Consider holding animation showcases, where parents are invited into school to view children's animated work. This will help build a culture of excellence around animation.
iPad styluses
To create animations effectively using Keynote, children will need to use a digital stylus. Styluses can be purchased online. Teachers will want to provide children with styluses that feature palm-rejection. This tool prevents children's hands from making marks on the screen when they are writing with the stylus.
Apple styluses are among the most advanced available for iPads, but cheaper digital styluses are also perfectly suitable for animation in Keynote. Teachers wishing to purchase styluses for animation and other purposes should be able to buy styluses for about £20 each. Considering the creative potential this affords on iPads, this can be seen as a worthwhile investment.
Ideas for using Keynote across the primary curriculum
Explaining scientific concepts, i.e. the water cycle, volcanoes, eclipses, seed/plant growth, photosynthesis, states of matter
Creating animations to accompany literature or poetry
Creating animated maps to show change of borders, i.e. the Roman Empire
After school/lunchtime clubs, with showcases on the school website or in person for parents!
Concluding thoughts
While not a specialised animation app, Keynote is more than suitable for children to express their ideas using animation at primary level.
Through creating animated videos about their ideas, children have the chance to explain concepts in their own way, consolidating their learning. For many children, the experience of doing animation using Keynote will inspire them to create their own animated work at home and animation will truly become a hobby and valued means of expression.
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