Digital Storytelling

      With the Frames program that is ($44.95). A friend who works for Tech4Learning gave me a copy of the latest version at a conference last month and playing around with it reminds me what a powerful storytelling tool stop action animation can be. It was one of the original special effects in Hollywood after all! I’ve seen a number of entries in media festivals that use their Clay Animation kit figures or Legos or photos or drawings to tell a story. And, yes, you can string those images together in a variety of programs from PowerPoint to Final Cut or Adobe Premiere. Frames, however, puts it all at your fingertips including recording and green screen capability for still images, an "onion skin" feature that lets you line up a picture with the last one, and exporting to a variety of formats from web or podcast ready to importing into your video editing program.
     Though not made with Frames, here are a couple of PSA’s (public service announcements) from the San Fernando Education Technology Team that use stop action: “Buckle Up!” and “Parents” (which really just speeds video up for a time lapse effect). Aside from creating a virtual set with stop action animated actors, time lapse style movies can reveal changes that students have a tough time visualizing. Growing plants from seed in class or measuring evaporation in a glass container? Take a picture every day from the exact same place, put them together in a video editing program and add a cross dissolve-like transition between each shot. Thirty, one second pictures could show a month in just half a minute.
     For years I’ve kidded the Tech4Learning people that they give away as much as they sell and I’m not talking about their software. They are a tremendous resource for copyright friendly pictures with Pics4Learning; free software tutorials from their own products to hints on

Microsoft and Apple programs, as well as unitedstreaming (Snacks are free, Recipes4Success is a subscription service); and some tools like a rubric maker and a graphic organizer maker.