Vringo...Create Video Project Ringtones for Cells

Using a free web2.0 resource called Vringo, students can create short video ringtones. The way it works is when you call someone else, your video ringtone will be displayed as your friends phone is ringing. I was thinking this might be a fun way to engage in a content-based project. For example, students in a foreign language class could create video ringtones asking a question in the foreign language about a cultural item/event displayed in a video. When their classmate sees the video as their phone rings and hears the question, they could answer their phone and answer the question in the foreign language. It might be a fun way to review for an upcoming test and an engaging way to become more familiar with cultural events. Another example could be students in a science class could create short video clay animation clips (or find them online) of certain scientific phenomenon such as mitosis. Each students could be in charge of calling friends in the class to share their video ringtones. Now, every time a teenager's phone rings (which we know is about once a minute!), a video review occurs! Who knew ringtones could be so educational?

While Vringo does not work on all cells phones, I was surprised at how many basic (non-smartphones) it does work on. Vringo also allows users to share videos between cell phones very easily---this is also nice if students are creating quick mobile video reviews. Learning on the go...