SmashMash TV is a new web application that allows you to grab images or video off the web and then do an amazing number of fun things with it — animation, insert text, create “talking lips” to say what you want the image to say, and a bunch more. Then you can post a link to your creation for all the world to see.

I would see it primarily as a tool for English Language Learner students to practice their speaking skills. It would be fun, I’m sure, for students to hear George Bush, for example, reciting their essay with his neck bobbing up and down.

The drawback is that it seems pretty complicated — to me, at least. Babberize makes it a lot simpler to have an images lips move and speak your voice. Of course, that’s all you can do with Blabberize — it doesn’t have all of the other SmashMash bells and whistles, but I don’t necessarily think they’re necessary for educational purposes.

The other big advantage SmashMash does have over Blabberize is that Blabberize doesn’t yet allow you to take an image off the net — you have to upload it from your computer. That complicates things for school computers.

Sometime over the next few days when I’m sure I’m going to have ongoing access to the Internet (Winter storms here in Northern California have made electricity dicey, even in our urban areas) I’ll place the link on my Examples of Student Work page.