T21M3 Integration

The focus of our Integration section this week will be to provide tools and techniques for creating digital stories or other multimedia resources. The goal is to equip you to create resources yourself and have your students create multimedia products for class projects. Our Implementation task this week will also require you to create a multimedia product.

Variations on the Theme

Digital stories, typically have a narrative which is usually spoken and enhanced by the addition of images, audio, video or animations. Instead of a narrative, the text component could be a report or even a series of instructions, so from now on, the term "story" will be used very loosely. 

Instead of spoken text/audio, the story could be presented as a comic strip. Instead of basing the story on a linear flow, interactivity could be used to enable the viewer/reader to choose the sequence or even the outcome of the story.

Background Information: Some Technology History

For many years, Adobe Flash was the "king" of web-based multimedia. YouTube videos were provided in the Flash Video format (FLV). For many developers, Flash Professional was the preferred application for creating animations, web-based games and web-based simulations. The Flash player, provided as a free download for Windows and MacOS was nearly ubiquitous. Unfortunately, Flash accumulated a bad reputation for bugs and hackers started exploiting security flaws in Flash.

Apple refused to allow a Flash player for iOS devices and this was a significant factor in triggering the decline in use of Flash multimedia products. Adobe has announced that it will cease distribution and support of Flash by the end of 2030. HTML 5, supplemented by CCS3 and Javascript, has become the new standard for web-based multimedia products.

There are still many Flash based multimedia resources that are very useful for the classroom, but they can not be used with iPads, and they will need to be converted to HTML 5 or be phased out in the next few years.

Tools and Techniques

1. Presentation with interactivity. Both PowerPoint and Keynote allow you to add links to other slides so viewers can make choices about where to go next. This could be used to create stories with multiple endings.  
2. Microsoft Sway.  Sway is a fairly new, free web service from Microsoft. if your school has a subscription to Office 365, you can access Sway through the Office 365 portal. Alternatively, you can use it with a free Microsoft account.
   Sway uses the metaphor of cards. A card can contain headings, ordinary text, images, audio or video. Once you add your content, you can choose a style and Sway dresses up your creation. If you want to change it, you click Remix and it provides a different design. Once your creation is finished, you click Share and obtain a link to share with others.
3. Prezi. This is another presentation tool that some have likened to PowerPoint "on steriods." Check out this introduction.
4. Video production. Both laptops and tablets can be used to record video and then edit the video using free applications such as iMovie or other free video editing software available from the Apple Store or the Microsoft Store. (If you have Windows Live Movie Maker on your PC you may still use it, but it is no longer supported by Microsoft.) There are numerous tutorials on YouTube for these video editing applications.
   Those who want more sophisticated editing can purchase higher products like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro. If your school has an Adobe CC license, it may include Premiere Pro.
   Video production is a very useful skill to have and is often used in the classroom. However, it can be rather time-consuming if you want to do high quality camera work and sophisticated video editing.
5. Podcasts. Some people refer to these as radio shows and they typically involve recording a narrated story, then adding music. The music is often used as an entry which fades as the narration begins, and then plays louder at the end of the show.
   A popular Mac application for recording music is Garage Band and it can also record your voice and mix it with a musical background. A free alternative for both Windows and MacOS is Audacity. Here is a YouTube video to introduce Audacity.
6. Animations. Both PowerPoint and Keynote allow objects on the screen to be animated. A story could use speech bubbles and sounds for which timing can be adjusted and synchronized. However, they are both limited in their capabilities so are restricted to  simple animations.
   Dedicated animation software range from free products to professional products with a  wide range of price tags. One of the most popular paid products used in schools is Adobe Animate and is usually bundled with other Adobe Creative Cloud products such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro and inDesign. 
7. Comics. There is quite a range of options for creating comic strips. Two popular options are Canva (free for private use of school use) and Pixton (available as a free trial but has a small cost for classroom use. Both are web services.