Imagine a Web 2.0 tool that combines your images and music to create a flashy video presentation. It's quick and easy to use, and the results can make the standard digital slideshow look like something from the last decade. That's Animoto.  

To learn about Animoto, take a look at the company's 60-second video introduction.

Share your video with a link by email, copy-and-paste a code snippet to embed it on a web page, export it to YouTube, post it on Facebook, and so on. You can make an unlimited number of 30-second videos for free, or upgrade ($3 each or $30 per year) for the ability to create longer presentations. The all-access pass also includes the ability to download your video to your computer to use as you'd like.

Animoto recently launched a free all-access version for educators and their students, in return for sharing the cool and innovative uses they've found for using the software in the classroom:

If you are interested, we'd like to give you a "Classroom Code" that'll give each of your students a free All-Access pass (unlimited full-length videos for a whole year) upon signing up with this code. And you can use Animoto with your students however you wish. Keep in mind that videos can be viewed full-screen for classroom presentations.

To request a Classroom Code, educators may email Rebecca Brooks at rebecca@animoto.com.

You may also be interested in reading about the 3-week real-classroom trial of Animoto at the Box of Tricks blog, from languages teacher José Picardo, or viewing some real-world examples from other classrooms, posted at the Animoto Education website.

Some have suggested that, if there's anywhere that Animoto falls short of the true Web 2.0 spirit, perhaps it's on the creativity front: The software makes all the editing decisions for you, based on the images and music you choose. The counter to that, of course, is that Animoto makes high-quality video presentation accessible to those without high-tech skills or specialized software and equipment. As a quick low-cost way to create a snappy visual presentation for your organization or classroom -- or to spark imagination in users of all ages -- Animoto more than justifies the recent buzz around it. And it's a good bit of fun to use, too!