At first I have to admit that I was unsure about digital stories. I think they are a great idea, but actually creating one myself was making me a little uneasy. We were given a task in our GMU technology class to create a digital story to share with our class on ANYTHING. I think that is why I was so unsure of making my digital story, with the option of doing it on ANYTHING. It was hard for me to figure out a topic that would be appealing to the class as well as meet the requirements for the course. I came up with several ideas, but when it came down to it I decided to do a simple story on my little brother. I had tons of pictures to choose from and he is a cutie so I thought the class would enjoy watching a 3-5 minute story on him rather than seeing pictures of me.
The program we used was Photostory3. It is a simple story maker with everything you need for the requirements of our project. The program was easy to use which made the process of doing the digital story enjoyable. The program did have a few down sides to it. You could not talk all the way through the story. You had to record for each picture so you would either have to break up your thoughts into 3 to 5 second intervals or not have your voice on some pictures. In some presentations you can actually hear the microphone going on and off during each photo which can take away from the story itself.
The other problem I came across was adding the music to the story. The program comes with simple music to play in the background. Our professor gave us a free mp3 website to use. At first I had trouble figuring out how to download the music from this site, but after a classmate helped me out I thought it added so much more to my digital story. Luckily my digital story was as long as the song so I did not have to worry about finding another one. I could not think of how I could add a second song and have it flow as well as just using one song.
Overall, I really enjoyed using this program and creating a digital story. I can see myself using them in my classroom as a teacher to get to know the parents in beginning of the year they could create a digital story to introduce themselves as a class. It also can be used as a culminating project at the end of a unit for either individual or small groups. It is also something that once it is done we can post them on our class blog or wiki to share with others. I think parents would enjoy having a CD of a digital story that there child had created. It is another way to get technology in the classroom.
I totally understand your initial feelings about digital stories. I was unsure about the program because I wasn't sure how it was going to be when I had to create my own story. I had a similar problem with the music and I ultimately decided to use the music that the program offered. I also agree with what you said about not being able to talk all the way through the story. I found that I had to change my initial thought process for my story once I learned that I had to record something for each picture. I ended up combining many of my photos so it would flow a little better. I also had to get over the fact that I could hear the microphone going on and off during each photo. But all in all, I enjoyed the experience as well.
ReplyDeleteI also understand your uneasy feeling towards digital stories. I do think that they are a great idea, but since I'm not that great with technology, I was very nervous! But after playing around with it, I realized how easy it was.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I liked your idea of having students do a digital story for a culminating project, and posting it to the class blog or wiki. I agree that parents would love to see something their child has created.
ps. Great job on your digital story! I hope you have a great weekend, and I will see you in class Monday :)