Purpose

 

          In my French 4 class, we read “The Little Prince” together.  In addition to reading, students complete assignments, discussions, and projects. The website was designed as a go-to resource for each aspect of this project, including the reading assignments.  This multimedia project was created as a companion to a summary of chapters 2-8.  Having a video in addition to the printed text allows students increased autonomy with the reading assignment by making it possible to read along, listen as if this were an audiobook, work on their comprehension, or practice pronunciation.  This flexibility allows students to self-differentiate according to what they need most or what they enjoy most.

 

Audience

 

          The target audience for this product is my French 4 class.  As such, the introductions and conclusions are very much directed toward them.  Additionally, the bulk of the video was recorded in French in order to maintain the goal of giving my students as much comprehensible input to the students as possible, even asynchronously.

 

Process and Software Justification

 

          To make this multimedia presentation, I first began by making a concept map with the reading guide that I had prepared for my students as my main resource for organization.  I used Lucidchart to make the concept map because this program makes creating diagrams and connections really quick and intuitive.  Making changes was really easy and the program facilitated and simplified the process of actually putting my thoughts on paper.  This helped me identify the goal of this reading assignment, how it connects to previous and upcoming readings, and what might help students understand.  I was also able to  identify essential ideas, themes, and connections between them that would then help me create a script for my multimedia product.

 

          Creating the script helped me define what sorts of visual supports I needed.  I created the storyboard in Keynote, the presenting software found on MacBooks.  I prefer to use Keynote because I am very familiar with how it works and can easily manipulate images and text.  I inserted script and then began looking for visuals to support the story.  Because the book is open source, I used Google to find watercolor paintings from the book and added them to the storyboard.  This helped me identify the timing for how the visuals should line up with the script.

 

          Once I created the storyboard, creating the slideshow for the multimedia presentation  went quickly.  I put the pictures into a Keynote presentation and was ready to record.  I used Loom to record my presentation because I could easily record my screen and my voice at the same time.  It is also remarkably simple to use for recording, simple edits, and sharing.  After recording, it was simple to download the video from Loom, then upload it to YouTube to make it more accessible for my students.

 

Steps for creating a similar multimedia product

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1. Define the purpose of your product

2. Create a conceptual framework

   1. Open Lucidchart.

   2. Drag shapes and lines from the left to insert ideas and make connections.

   3. Add main ideas, supporting details, and essential concepts

   4. Identify a logical flow between overarching themes and connections

   5. Based off this “logical flow”, outline a script

   6. Write a script for the product

3. Create a storyboard

   1. You could do this on paper, using presentation software such as Keynote, or using other software.

   2. Put in your script, breaking it into sections that have natural breaks or would be a good time to change visuals.

   3. Find visuals for your presentation by using your own photos or by searching for visuals on a web browser.

   4. Be sure to keep track of visuals used on a web browser in order to be able to cite them in your presentation if they are not open source.

   5. Add visuals to the storyboard next to the portion of the script that they should align with.

4. Open Keynote or Powerpoint

   1. Choose a theme

   2. Add the visuals to the Keynote or Powerpoint

5. Open Loom

   1. Make sure the microphone and camera on your computer are working

   2. Select “Record screen”

   3. Click record

   4. In your Keynote or Powerpoint, click “Present”

   5. Read your script and advance the slides as indicated in your storyboard.

   6. When done, click “Stop recording.”

   7. You can trim and edit your video in Loom if needed.

   8. Download your Loom video

6. Go to YouTube.com

   1. Upload your video to YouTube.

   2. Select the appropriate settings for you target audience.

 

I hope that these steps are clear enough that others could easily follow them to design and produce simple multimedia products.

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Conceptual Framework