Photo Story 3

WHAT IS IT?
Photo Story 3 is a free program that helps you create exciting digital video stories by adding panning and zooming effects to your pictures. You can also record narration for your pictures, and add titles and background music to your story. It's simple and easy! Directions are right on the screen. This brief video from TeacherTube highlights the features of PS3.

PS3 differs from Movie Maker because you can use only stills and not movies. However, using stills requires students to focus on narration instead of "making a movie." You can use original digital photos from your files, web photos saved as .jpg to your files, or take photos of words or drawings.

HOW TO DO IT:
Download Photo Story 3. Open the program and choose 1) Begin a new story, 2) Edit a project, or 3) Play a story. Each screen gives instructions on what to do next.

Import pictures from your files and then arrange them in order on the film strip. Just click on a photo and slide it to where you want it in the film strip at the bottom or use the arrows and X at the end of the strip to move or delete. With a picture in the photo viewer, use the controls underneath the picture to edit, rotate, or adjust color. To delete picture, right click on it in the film strip.

Click Next to add text on a picture. Type the title for a picture in the text box and use the icons above the text box to position it on the picture. Click underneath each photo in the viewer to choose a different effect.

Click Next to narrate your story. Type your notes for each photo in the text box. Then simply click the red record button and record your narration for each picture. (Click the tiny microphone icon above the text box to test your computer’s sound hardware. Also customize your photo motion by clicking underneath each picture in the view box. Click on the Motion and Duration tab and the Transition tab at the top to set motions. Click Preview to see how you like it.

Click Next and add background music. Click Select Music to use audio from your own music files or the Internet. Click Create Music to customize music from the Photo Story music library to best match your story. You can pick the band, the mood, the tempo and the intensity.

The final step is converting the slide show to video format as .wmvfile to play on Windows Media Player.

This site has a tutorial with visuals.

WHAT TO DO WITH IT:
Students can use the program to create a variety of projects for the classroom. This is also a great way to teach storyboarding and planning. Have students storyboard on paper before starting Photo Story 3. It keeps them focused while working and makes better use of the time in the computer lab.
-- History and science documentaries -- Example: Scroll down and click Social Studies
-- How-to directions
-- Commercials
-- Read a picture book -- Although it is a copyright violation to take photos of pages in published books, students can re-enact a picture in a book and photograph that. Then adapt the text.
-- Illustrate/narrate an original poem or story -- Example: scroll down to Poetry Multimedia Project > Photo Story Poem: If I Were in Charge of the World. Example: Teacher and Student created.
-- Summarize a printed story
-- Stop action animation with clay, puppets, etc.
-- Audio pen pal "letters." How cool to actually hear your pen pal (especially from another country) and see what they are telling you about!
-- Assessments for science lab -- Example: Science
-- Explain scientific and math principles
-- Showing how to solve equations in math
-- Digital storytelling in Spanish -- Example: scroll down to Peliculas in Espanol
-- Showcase and comment on artwork
-- Health public service announcements
-- Book trailers -- Tutorial and Examples: Scroll to bottom of page
-- Virtual field trips with commentary. Bring the world to your students.
-- Great for elementary students -- Examples: Scroll down to examples of Photo Story 3 projects. More than one student can narrate in a digital story.
-- Teachers create classroom tutorials for absentees.

Free Picture and Audio Resources:
Library of Congress American Memory - free images, maps, and sound recordings
FreeFoto.com - free for educational use, copy and paste bibliography for pictures
Pics4learning - free for educational use, copy and paste bibliography for pictures
Public Domain Photos - free for educational use
DiscoverySchool's Clip Art Gallery
DK Clip art
FindSounds.com - search for wave, au, and aiff sound files.