Digital Storytelling

I have come accross several sources listing PhotoPeach as a great tool to use with students. It's a free, web-based tool that uses still images to create a slide show/ video. You can create a "digital story" within minutes following these basic steps:

1. Uplodad photos from your computer, Picasa or Facebook.
2. Arrange them in the order you want them to play (easy click and drag).
3. Add a title slide and music from the selections available.
4. Edit the story to add captions to slides and change the speed at which it plays.

Students could this tool:

• to present a topic (eg. The Link between Malaria and Mosquitoes)
• to summarize a lab experiment using pictures of their procedure and results (eg. Making Biofuel in the Chemistry Lab)
• to explore a guiding question using only pictures and captions to explain their answer (eg. Why Do Species Become "Endangered"?)
• to document a field trip
• to introduce themselves in 60 seconds at the beginning of the year (can't remember where I got this from, but not my idea).
• to review a topic (eg. Forces, Human Circulation, Metals and Non-Metals)

Here is an example that I made about the places I've lived in the past 30 years.

My Pit Stops on PhotoPeach



The slideshow can be shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and it can also be embeded or linked. Then people who watch it can leave comments. It is pretty limited in what it can do other than the steps mentioned above (ie. you can't download your own music, or edit the text or slides you add), but it's perfect to use in the class because the process is so straightforward and the uploading of images is fast. They could come to class with their photos and notes and finish puting together the digital story before the period is over. This could be followed by screenings and discussions the next lesson.

There are more advanced tools for making digital stories (eg. those that allow you to add your own voice recording to the story or edit transitions between images). Animoto is similar to PhotoPeach in terms of ease of use, and has a couple extra features like adding your own audio and spotlighting images for more emphasis, and it automatically creates cool effects around your photos but it takes a few minutes for the video to be created for you and you need to pay for an account if you want unlimited full length videos (I think this may be different if you apply for a class account, check here). Fun though, worth checking out and the customized audio possibility would allow students to create an audio recording to go over their photos as a narrative.

You can also use movie editing programs like iMovie, Movie Maker or even PowerPoint to create digital stories, though they require more of a learning process and time for editing. Please comment if you have had students make digital stories in your classroom or if know of any other related software/ webtools. Thanks!

Find links related to (more advanced) digital storytelling here.