Learning Technologies: Design & Applications

Digital Story

Reflection on social media

To create my digital story, I used the tool called “slide” at http://www.slide.com/.

It can be watched here: http://www.slide.com/r/tnqMktFM3T-p6K1Gzi6jCef7ThDHqy0I?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

First selecting this tool was an adventure:

• I tried at least three tools until I was satisfied.
• Some tools did not allow the use of captions, which made it challenging to tell the story.
• Some tools did not allow for music.
• At first, I wanted to use a video, but then, I realized that most of the tools were not equiped to create what I had in mind. Some probably were, but I would have had to pay to become a member.

Learning how to author the tool I selected:

• I soon realized that the use of images was the most effective way of creating my story.
• First, there are many images available on Google (advanced search: labeled for reuse).
• Also, with images, it became possible to add captions and audio.
• I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the end result was quite presentable.

The choices:

• Slide offered the possibility of choosing a certain style.
  • Of course, I went for the old film look, being a very big movie fan.
• It also allowed for the use of “skins”, which are textures around the basic look.
  • In my case, the skin consists of holes like in an old movie strip.
• Slides were surprisingly easy to add, so were captions.

The impact of the tools:

• Images were found on the internet and, despite the limited choice in the “reusable” public domain, I found what I needed to illustrate a Mayan legend.
• The music was not entirely satisfying. I would have prefered the sound of flutes from the Andes, for example. But at least there was an instrumental piece that sort of worked.
• I did not find any mean to add music other than from the tool’s own audio bank.

Using the “Slide” to teach Spanish:

• I intend to use this tool in my Spanish class. I found it to be user friendly and quite adaptable to the types of presentations that my language students create for our class.
• The various templates offer them many different ways of presenting their work.
• It can be used to tell a story, teach a lesson, or review a specific theme.
• I have actually added it the Moodle site that I created for this course.
• I believe that my students would really love this tool. At this time, they tend to gravitate around PowerPoint. I think that “Slide” would give them a very creative and flexible alternative.

References:

Lamb, B. (2007). Dr. Mashup; or, Why Educators Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Remix. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 42, no. 4 (July/August 2007): 12–25.  Accessed online March 9 2009 http://www.educause.edu/ER/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume42/DrMashuporWhyEducatorsShouldLe/161747