Creating Animated Mazes in Keynote

I've been having fun exploring and creating animated mazes in Keynote. I think this would be a great activity to introduce simple path animation to students. Here are the basic steps for this project:

Step 1: Set a plain background:

• (add new project) > White > delete text boxes

Step 2: Draw your maze:

• Draw a single line with the thickest crayon for your main path.
• Draw a second line to make the path thicker, use the paint tube to fill the path.
• Add additional paths and dead ends.
• Select the finished path > Format > Lock (to lock the path in place)

Steps 3, 4, and 5: Decorate with Shapes, Drawings, and Emojis:

• Add Shapes > Use Format to change the color of the shapes.
• Draw in additional details.
• Make a text box (in Shapes, under Basic) to add an emoji. Use text formatting to make the emoji larger.
• Select all the shapes, group, and lock into the background with the maze path.

Step 6: Add the animation:

• Add a shape for a character or object to follow your maze.
• Format the character or object with a contrasting color. Use an outline and shadow to make the character stand out.
• Tap the character > Animate > Add Action > Animate Path
• Slowly move the character through the maze, creating the path.
• Tap the PLAY button to preview.

Step 7: Add a background:

• Tap the white background > Format
• Add a color or dynamic background.

Step 8: Save as Video:

• Export > video > save to photos.

I have created a video at Youtube that demonstrates step by step how to create the mazes. It is broken into steps in case you need specific help with a part of the directions.

https://youtu.be/95UGaqL0FJ4

There are lots of ways that creating a maze could be integrated into a learning activity in class. Some ideas:

• Science: Animal in a habitat, looking for food or shelter
• ELA: A book character with stops at events in the sequence of the story
• History: A maze through a sequence of historic events
• Enrichment: add additional animations at stops along the way to tell a story!

Do you have any ideas of how these mazes could be used as part of a learning activity?

Here is a link to my page of Keynote resources: https://sites.google.com/view/creativeapptitude/keynote