PhotoStory

I have seen this technology being used and have been highly impressed. The teacher took a vocabulary lists related to things around the house and had students go home and take pictures of these particular objects. Then, the students had to integrate the vocabulary list and a particular grammar lesson and create sentences corresponding to each picture taken. In the computer lab, students uploaded their pictures in a program called PhotoStory. The kids could create a presentation (similar to PowerPoint) with their pictures and sentences, yet the presentation played like a movie. The advantages to PhotoStory are that students can record their own voices into their presentation as well as music. Therefore, the presentation runs more like a film that the kids eventually all watch at the end of the instructional week.

This activity is extremely motivating for kids in several ways. First, students get to create authentic work that involves their own lives. Second, students get to play around with this technology and made informed decisions on how they choose their presentation to play out. This builds on their critical thinking skills. I definitely want to try this in my classroom. The only issue is finding the TIME with an already packed curriculum.