ChatterPix Kids

Animals can talk? Really? Well, no, not really. But with ChatterPix Kids, it sure looks like it! We’ve all seen those commercials where there’s a talking baby or a talking animal. If you are anything like me, you’ve thought it was pretty cool but had no idea how it was done, and you figured it was probably pretty complicated. With ChatterPix Kids, not only can you make videos of talking animals in five easy steps, but the youngest students can do it, too!

How Does ChatterPix Kids Work?

Start by taking a photo of an object— it can be anything! You can use a picture that’s already in your camera roll.

Using your finger or a stylus, draw a line where you want the mouth to be. Then press the record button at the bottom of the screen. The app will count down so the students know when to begin speaking, and then it shows a countdown timer from 30 seconds. You can listen to the recording so you know whether you need to re-record it, and when you are satisfied, press the Next button.

Add some decorations. You can add stickers, a frame, and text to the video. Then press Next. When you are all finished, save the video to the Camera Roll. From there, you can upload it to YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, or anywhere else.

From the camera roll, you have total control over how the video is shared. You can “app smash” by using the video in another app, you can upload it to YouTube and share it publicly, or you can just keep it in the camera roll. The video also gets saved in the gallery within the app, so you can come back to it if necessary. ChatterPix Kids does not have a social sharing option because it is specifically made for students who are under the age of 13. If you do want the social sharing option, ChatterPix has an app (called ChatterPix) that will allow you to post to social media sites.

With ChatterPix Kids, students can transform regular photos into talking photos with the click of a button. This app works particularly well with Book Creator because students can bring their digital stories to life. And the sky’s the limit in terms of what images students decide to make talk, so this app encourages and inspires creativity in children.

Classroom Applications

ChatterPix Kids has potential for many different use in the classroom. In any subject, ChatterPix Kids can be used for students to:

• Give directions
• Get directions (the teacher would record the video with the directions and share it with students)
• Do a brief biography of a historical figure
• Tell a brief story from the point of view of an inanimate character from a reading passage
• Take a photo of a character they’ve drawn and bring it to life
• Draw a self-portrait, take a screen shot of it, and then use it to give an introduction at the beginning of the school year. Doing this helps to protect a student’s identity but still allows them to create video.
• Provide the rules of a sport from the point of view of the equipment

Common Core Connection

Along with the Common Core State State Standards, ChatterPix Kids can be used to help students improve their communication skills. They only have 30 seconds to record their voice, which means that they will need to be very succinct and choose their words carefully. This helps them develop vocabulary and it can help with their ability to persuade and choose the strongest argument. Students will be working on any number of the Common Core State Standards for Reading, Writing, Language, or Speaking and Listening when they show what they know using ChatterPix Kids.