Creating Narrated SlideShows and Screencasts

Interested in having one of these sessions shared as a presentation or workshop for your organization? Many breakout sessions are available as 3 hour workshops, 1 hour interactive videoconferences, and downloadable podcasts. Learn more, view upcoming schedules, and find download links on learn.playingwithmedia.com.

Description: The ability to create narrated slideshows and screencasts and share them online should be a basic skill for digitally literate learners today. In this session we'll explore the reasons why "playing with media" (including narrated slideshows/screencasts) is essential for digital literacy development, and discuss why teachers as well as students should be able to create narrated slideshows specifically to teach, learn, and demonstrate content mastery. We'll view examples of narrated slideshows created by teachers as well as students, and learn about different tools we can use to create and publish these creations online. We'll discuss the "workflow" for students creating narrated slideshows as a class assignment, either at home or in class using a cart of laptop computers, iPads, or the school computer lab.

Creative Commons License

These materials by Wesley A. Fryer are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Contact details for Wesley are available.

Playing with Media

Your Assignment:

  • Play with Media!
  • Find personal reasons and purposes to apply the skills and ideas we discuss today
  • Create a Father's Day present or birthday present this summer for someone which is a narrated slideshow (Mother's Day example)

What's Your Story? The Importance of Telling the Stories of Your Photos

Digital Telling is Not Digital Storytelling

  1. We need to think of visual literacy and digital literacy as a menu of progressive options
  2. Let's END PowerPoint abuse in schools! (Don McMillan: Life After Death by PowerPoint)
  3. Presentation Zen
  4. Pecha Kucha Resources - example
  5. Tell a Story in 5 Photos - example
  6. Narrated Slideshow / Screencast - example
  7. Digital Story / Digital Storytelling - Celebrate Texas Voices / Storychasers

Getting A New Haircut: Media Progression

  1. 5 Photo Story (Flickr Group)
  2. VoiceThread digital story (also available as screencast on YouTube)

Examples of Student-Created Narrated Slideshows

  1. Ejyafjallajokull: Our 6th Grace Science Volcano Project (7th grade, created with Explain EveryThing for iPad)
  2. Helen Keller Book Report (3rd grade, created with VoiceThread) - Also available as a 2 min screencast on YouTube
  3. Annie Oakley (4th grade, 44 sec, created with “Explain Everything” for iPad, posted to a class Posterous blog, more background available)
  4. Liquid Measure (5th grade, 32 sec, created with “Show Me” for iPad)
  5. Mathtrain.tv (5th graders in Santa Monica, CA)

Ideas / Resources for Photo Sources

  1. PLAN and PREPARE so students don't waste time searching for photos in class
  2. Kitzu Model: Prepared Media Kits
  3. Create a free "Photo Sandbox" for Student Use
    1. With Posterous - 6th Grade English Example
    2. With Picassa Web Albums - Grade 4/5 STEM Classroom Example
  4. Flickr Creative Commons Attribution Only Images
  5. Other Image Sources (from playingwithmedia.com)

iPad Narrated SlideShow Apps

  1. ShowMe (free)
  2. Explain Everything ($3)
  3. Others: SonicPics ($3) ScreenChomp (free), Educreations (free) and Replaynote ($5)

Other Narrated SlideShow Options

  1. VoiceThread - VoiceThread 4 Education wiki includes MANY examples like this
  2. SlideShare - example Slidecast
  3. Present.me (I haven't tried this one yet)
  4. SlideRocket
  5. 50+ Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story (Alan Levine)
  6. 5 Card Flickr (Alan Levine)
  7. More screencasting tools - from maps.playingwithmedia.com

Other Resources

  1. Creating Student Accounts Using One Gmail Account (from Sue Waters)
  2. Mapping Media to the Curriculum - maps.playingwithmedia.com
  3. Interactive Teacher websites from Yukon Public Schools (Oklahoma)
  4. iPad Media Camp