Dvolver can be a nice start!

ICT in ELT may sound complicated for many English language teachers. I was worried that ICT may result in wasting so much of our precious classroom time on explaining to our students how to use web tools rather than allowing time for them to actually use these. However, Dvolver-movie maker seems to be a nice start for inexperienced teachers like me as well as for students who are not yet introduced to web tools. It is very easy to use, simply by following clear steps. Dvolver can give us and our students the chance to get used to using web tools in class before moving on to more complicated web tools and apps.

What is Dvolver?

Dvolver is a great tool to easily create short animation movies online. There is no need to register on the site since it is free. You get to choose backgrounds, characters, add dialogue bubbles and background music to accompany your movie and when you are done you can choose among embedding your story in a blog, posting the link or sharing the story by e-mail.

How can we use Dvolver? 

1. First, we need to select one background (among 15 choices) and a sky (among 12 choices) for our story.

2. Then, select a plot which will determine how the two characters will interact. We have four choices:

a) Rendez-vous: The two characters enter the scene from opposite sides, they talk to each other and then they leave the way they came.

b) Pick-up: The two characters enter from opposite sides, they converse and leave together.

c) Chase: The two characters chase each other back and forth across the scene, they converse and chase each other again back and forth the scene.

d) Soliloquou: It is a monologue. One character enters, speaks and leaves.


3. Afterwards, we can choose one or up to two characters among 33 choices.
















4. The next step is to add dialogue bubbles up to three for each character and each scene. There is a limit 100text characters per character's line and we can have up to three scenes for each movie.

5. Then we can choose a background music for our story. We also have the choice to add two more scenes. If we do not want, we can click on the "finish button". Then, we give our story a tittle and name the director of the move and, finally, we can either click on the "preview" button and watch our movie or share it with the ways I wrote above.

One of the good features of Dvolver that makes it so easy is that if we are not happy with what we have done we can just click on the "back" button which it does not undo anything but allows us to change what we have done. For more details about Dvolver check Russell Stannard's teacher training video .

What kind of activities can we do with it?

I believe Dvolver is appropriate for elementary school students whose level of English is quite good and for lower secondary school students. The more I explore Dvolver, the more potentials it seems to have. Here are some ideas I would like share with you.

Very first day of class

• You can introduce yourself to your students.
• You can ask your students to introduce themselves. If there are many students you can ask them to make a video at home introducing themselves and in the next lesson you can have the class guess who created which video.
• Use the character's to establish "do's or do not's " for your class.

Post-reading activities

• Check their understanding of a text by asking them to transform it into a movie (be careful of the limitations of Dvolver which I will mention later on).
• Ask them to summarize what they have read or give an alternative ending to it.

Writing activities

• You can ask your students to make a video about smoking or other topic areas and have the characters disagree with each other. This can be a kind of pre-writing activity for a persuasive essay.

Speaking activities

• Ask your students to make a video about Christmas or holidays at home which they will present and talk about in the next class. The video can help them feel safe while talking in the classroom and make them elaborate further on their topic.

Grammar, vocabulary

• Instead of drilling your students you can try presenting the new grammar points or vocabulary through Dvolver videos. Your students can create individually or in groups their own stories and practice on the new language in classroom or at their homes.

Good points of Dvolver

1. Membership is free.
2. Easy for the teacher and students to use. Clear instructions and technology skills to create a movie are minimal.
3. You can create stories really fast as long as you or your students come up with the dialogue.
4. Students tend to love animation stories so they will be happy to participate. Pleasant activities can promote students motivation.
5. Students can make their own stories, choose the background, the characters and make the dialogues. Hence, the activity will be quite personalized and there is a greater possibility that students remember the taught language.
6. English lesson becomes meaningful because students will have to make dialogues appropriate to the plot and the background that they have chosen.
7. Students creativity is also fostered.
8. Can enable collaboration.
9. The finished movie can be sent by e-mail to the teacher.

Some limitations to think about

1. Computers and internet are necessary. Fortunately, nowadays in Greece more and more schools give us the opportunity to often conduct our lessons in computer labs. So make sure you take advantage of this.
2. Big number of students. Even when there are enough computers for everyone, it may be hard to use Dvolver with many students. However, do not be disappointed, you can have them work in groups or at their homes. Remember that they can always send you the link of their movies.
3. You can only use two characters per scene, have three scenes in your movie and choose among four plots. 
4. You cannot embed voices and non verbal behavior is also limited.
5. Some characters or content choices might be inappropriate for classrooms. Characters are overtly sexual. Nevertheless, you can use it under supervision depending on your teaching context.

Tip to bear in mind when using Dvolver in Greece

I believe that it is essential to let your director and your students parents know about any web tools you might use in your classroom in advance. You should explain the reasons why you choose to implement that particular tool in your classroom and what you expect your learner to gain.

I say yes to Dvolver because it is a useful, fun and formative web tool.


Printscreens from Dvolver