OTAN for Teachers s1

Empower Students

through Digital Storytelling

San Diego Regional CATESOL Conference
October 2009 2009

Ruth Gay, Elizabeth Clarke, Kristi Reyes
MiraCosta College Noncredit ESL Department

Workshop Agenda:

·  What is digital storytelling?

·  Student samples

·  Hands-on

o  Using PowerPoint clipart saved as .jpg images

o  Importing music and images into Windows Movie Maker

o  Adding voice-over narration, titles, transitions, and effects to a Movie Maker project

o  Saving a digital storytelling project and rendering it as a video file

Additional Resources:

o  Visit wiki at mccesltech.wikispaces.com (click CATESOL 2009) to view PowerPoint presentation, download complete ESL Digital Storytelling and Movie Maker booklets, and see student examples

o  View blog at mccdigitalstory.blogspot.com/ with links to class Web pages, sample assignments, tech info.

o  If you need assistance or have questions in the future, please feel free to email us at , or

Hands-on practice making your own digital story:

A. Writing. Write a short paragraph introducing yourself (1 – 2 minutes spoken), answering any of these questions:

·  What is your name and occupation?

·  Where do you live or teach?

·  What is your marital status or family situation?

·  What are your hobbies or interests? What do you like to do in your free time?

·  Any favorites (favorite food, music, movie, etc.).

·  Anything else you would like new acquaintances to know about you.

B. Storyboard. Plan what type of picture you will use for each sentence (no more than six images total).

C. Images on PowerPoint. Create a PowerPoint presentation with a design you choose and clip art or photos (approximately 6 – 8 slides). You will NOT type on your PowerPoint slides. Then, save the PowerPoint slides as .jpg images. Your slides with be saved as separate image files in a folder on the desktop (which you can later move to a USB device). Note: PowerPoint can be used to make the digital story by adding slide transitions and animations and narrating slides with rehearsed timings.

D. Choose music. Go to http://tinyurl.com/esldigistory. Find one instrumental music file you like. Download it to your project folder on the desktop.

E. Use Windows Movie Maker to Narrate your Images and Make your Movie.

Introduction to Movie Maker

Movie Maker is a video editor that comes standard on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It can be used to create Windows Media Audio/Video files from video, digital photos, and sound files. The movies can be shared via the Web, e-mail, or CD, burned onto DVDs using a DVD burner, or uploaded to video sharing Web sites such as Youtube or Google Video.

Getting Started: Saving Media in One Folder

It is important to first create a folder on your computer and put all media (video, pictures, sound files) that you plan to use into that folder. You can make a folder on your desktop by right-clicking with your mouse, choosing New and Folder.

Then type a name for the folder.
Press the Enter key.

Finding Movie Maker:

If the Automatic Updates feature in Windows is turned on, Movie Maker should be downloaded onto your computer. Click the Start button and choose Programs to locate Movie Maker. Note: If your computer uses Windows Vista operating system, some tool icons may appear slightly different from these.

The Movie Maker icon looks like this: Double click on the Movie Maker icon to open the program.

If you do not find Movie Maker, you can find downloading instructions at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx.

This is the Movie Maker interface:

Note: If you don’t see the Movie Tasks pane, click “View” and “Task Pane.”

Importing Media

Movie Maker allows users to capture video from a device (a webcam or videocamera) and import video files, picture files, and sound files through the Capture Video in Movie Tasks.

You can import files with the following file name extensions into Windows Movie Maker to use in projects:

To import pictures:

1.  Click “Import pictures” under Movie Tasks on the tasks pane.

2.  Select the picture file you want to import from the folder where it is located on your computer by clicking on it. Select many files at once by dragging the mouse over them.

3.  Click import. The pictures will appear in the collections area.

4.  To return to the storyboard view, click “Show Storyboard.”

5.  Drag the photos from the collections area onto the storyboard in the order you want them to appear.

Import audio:

1. Click “Import audio” under Movie Tasks on the tasks pane.

2. Select the audio file you want to import from the folder where it is located on your computer by clicking on it.

3. Click import. The audio file will appear in the Collections area. Drag it to the timeline.

Note: In Windows Movie Maker, audio files can overlap in the timeline; however, only one audio file can be placed at the start of the timeline. Other audio files must be positioned on the timeline to start afterwards.

Add Titles and/or Credits:

1.  Click “Make titles or credits” on the Movie Tasks pane.

2.  Select where you want a title to appear. A title can appear at the beginning, before, on, or after a selected clip. Credits will always appear at the end of the movie.

3.  Enter text for the title. It will appear in the preview window.

4. 
Under “More options,” click “Change the title animation” to change how the text appears in the movie.

5.  Click “Change the text font and color” to select fonts, sizes, and colors, as well as the text alignment and background color.

6.  Click “Done, add title to movie” when you have finished.

7.  Click “Done, add title to movie.”

8.  Titles, credits, and transitions will appear on the timeline:

Add video effects:

1.  Click “View video effects” on the Movie Tasks pane.

2.  In Storyboard view, drag desired video effect onto the star on a picture or video clip.

3.  Preview the effect by pushing the play button in the Preview window. To remove an effect, right-click on the effect and choose delete or click on the undo button.

Add video transitions:

1.  Click “View video transitions” on the Movie Tasks pane.

2.  In Storyboard view, drag desired video transition onto the empty box between each item on your storyboard.

3.  Preview the transition by pushing the play button in the Preview window. To remove a transition, right-click on it and choose delete or click on the undo button.

Voice-over narration:

There are a few ways to record audio with a computer that has a built-in or plug-in microphone. One is to use the free audio editing program Audacity, which you can download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net. Export your audio recording as a .wav file and import it into the Movie Maker project. Another option is easier but does not allow for easy editing:

Use the recording option in Movie Maker to narrate a timeline.

1.  Click the microphone above the storyboard / timeline.

2.  Click “Start Narration” and speak.

3.  Click “Stop Narration” when you have finished.

4.  You will be prompted to save your sound file. It is a good idea to save it in the same folder as your other project media. Your narration will automatically be added to the timeline on the audio track.

To save a Movie Maker project:

Save a Movie Maker project if you do not complete it in one sitting and want to revise it in the future. Remember that it is important to save the project in the same folder as your project media.

1.  Click “File” and choose “Save Project As…”

2.  Save the project in the same folder as your project media.

3.  Give your project a name that will help you identify it.

4.  Click “Save.”

Important: The file is now saved as a Windows Movie Maker Project with the extension .MSWMM. It is not a movie file yet.

To finish the movie:

Movie Maker provides several options for saving, as shown under the “Finish Movie” area in the Movie Tasks pane. Many movie files will be too large, however, to send as an email attachment. By saving to your computer, you can later burn the movie to a CD or DVD or upload to a Web site.

To save to your computer:

1.  Click “Save to my computer.”

2.  Enter a name for your movie.

3.  Choose a location to save your movie (Desktop will be the easiest place to find it).

4.  Click “Next.”

5. 
The Save Movie Wizard will display the rendering progress.

6.  By checking the box “Play movie when I click Finish,” your movie will automatically begin playing in Widows Media Player upon completion.

7.  Click “Finish” to end the wizard.

8.  The movie has been saved as a Window Media Audio/Video file with the extension .wmv.

SD Regional CATESOL Conference, October 2009 Page 13