Digital Story with Xtra on top!
Comments(0) I finished my digital story mash-up, taking data from the web and putting it into a story for my students at school. This was a rewarding experience b/c it was totally new for me. I could have used other presesntation software tools I was familiar with but I see the value in exploring the new. I chose to use Xtranormal: a text to movie software.
I made some glaring errors in creating my project by using some sets and actors that were considered “premiums” to the software and would have cost me $$ to publish. I initially wanted to have my story take place in the jail scene with a police man and a little snitty know-it-all girl (personal experiences with cyberbullying kids). I figured the goal was to use the new tools in a way that could be implemented for free in classrooms and I will likely pursue a free teacher and student set of accounts. So I started fresh, and kept an eye to avoid the premiums, and I was quite happy with how things turned out. Check out my cyberbulying story on my Story page.
Overall, I see tremendous value in supporting students to use mash-up tools like these to build web presence and confidence and to instill their own creativity alongside their learning. This year I was able to introduce the kids to PREZI and ANIMOTO as extra tools for creating interesting presentations and their confidence and skills astounded me. A lot of them started creating their own personal presentations on topics of their choice outside of classes…the learning continues. After all, let’s light the spark and let them build the fire!