PhotoStory: Documenting Historical Perspectives through Multimedia

Just joined Kathy Dorr for her PhotoStory workshop. Love these FREE Microsoft downloads! Kathy is starting with 4 essential questions:

1. How can the use of technology foster a deeper understanding of history for our students?
2. Why are differing perspectives necessary to understand historical events?
3. How can use of technology foster creativity?
4. To what extent does technology use provide an effective learning environment for diverse students?

Kathy is using a WebQuest assignment she designed called History and Its Impact on Me to pull everyone into working with documents as we learn PhotoStory. She has provided a comprehensive packet (not sure if it's online) for participants to follow, including several scoring guides created with Rubistar.

First tip for PhotoStory: To write on a blank slide, a feature that is not built into PS, create a blank slide in PowerPoint and save it as a jpg. You can then add a title and/or text to the blank slide. To create a project, you start by importing a photo, and then you basically just "next" your way on through, picking options along the way. The "wow factor" kicks in when you get to the Create Music screen. No more copyright issues! Although, I hope in the next version it will be easier to create music pieces that are truly a little more somber. I worked on a piece about my grandmother, who was widowed in 1915, a single parent five years before the 19th Amendment was passed. Somehow the ragtime selections didn't really enhance my project.

PhototStory3 would be an easy format for showcasing student projects on the K12HSN website.