Tools

Name of the tool: Photo Story 3 for Windows

Platform(s) on which it works: Program supported by Windows.

What it does: Photo story is an alternative to powerpoint.  Essentially it is a montage of photos that you can select from the internet or ones that you have taken yourself.  You can add text over the photos or you can play music or add a vioce-over. The program also enables the user to share their story with viewers.

One way it could be used in your situation (classroom, PD, etc.): I have used this program in place of Powerpoint as a presentation device.  The students had to research one piece of evidence that supports Darwin's theory of evolution.  They then had to develop a narritive and find photos to compile into their photo story about evolution. I have used this project as an introduction to the evidence of evolution and will try it as a review after we have discussed the topic in class to see which I like best. 

"Testimonials": My students enjoyed this project.  They liked that they could add their own flair to make the video interesting for their classmates.  They also learned a lot about the evidence that they reaserched, more than I could tell them in a lecture. 

Note: I did have technical difficulties when I tried to do this project with my students.  The problem was with student profiles on our network at school.  Some students had access to Photo Story others did not so they could not save their work or they could not make changes to their work after they had saved it once. So, I ended up having those students who had problems use powerpoint instead.  You could definitly tell that the students who had to use powerpoint were not as engaged after they had their hearts set on making a "movie".  I am going to try this project again next week but give the students the option of using Photo Story or Prezi.  Maybe using different technology will be something that they will enjoy rather than using powerpoint.