Resource Types: Tutorials

This is a screencast on how use Audacity, an open source audio software to edit narration and mix it with background music. The screencast is in a wmv format. Audacity is available for both Mac and Windows platform as a free download.

This packet has a few audio handouts in it: one on various equipment options, one on getting copyright-free music from ccmixter, and one on Audacity.

I've been doing some work for nonprofits lately, who want to post stories, and the old standby freeplaymusic.com has licensing restrictions for nonprofits. Hence the ccmixter sheet.

The Audacity handout is bare bones.

Here's a checklist I created for the youth teachers at the South End Technology Center's Learn 2 Teach, Teach 2 Learn program, so they could track their progress working as a group to complete a digital story. This might be helpful for workshop participants to keep track of their progress or for anyone doing story production over multiple sessions.

BASIC STEPS:

Overall, try to make prompts as specific as possible, and not just tied to general themes.

Listing exercise:

An adaption of Creative Narration's Spreading the Stories participants packet for youth, ages 10-18 year olds, for a two-day challenge to create digital stories about their community and put them on a Google Map, at the

Taken from the YearUp Digital Storytelling Manual, this tutorial guides you through creating a digital story using Windows Movie Maker, a video editing software available for PCs. The tutorial explains how to set up the program, understand the interface, import video and audio files, edit images, and add transitions.

Taken from the YearUp Digital Storytelling Manual, a tutorial for Photoshop Elements 4. Presents the workspace, toolbar, and the key features most useful for editing images for use in a digital story. Also includes teaching points to help teachers use the tutorial in a classroom setting.

Taken from the Year Up Digital Storytelling Manual, a tutorial on how to download and use Audacity, a free audio recording and editing program. Also includes guidelines for using the Samson C01U Microphone and teaching guidelines for how to effectively record voiceovers in a classroom setting.

iPhoto is a Mac program that you can use to organize digital photos on your computer, and also to do basic photo editing. It can help you prep materials for use in a digital story.

 This tutorial breaks the program down into six sections:

--Importing Photos

--Navigating through Your Photo Library

--Organizing Your Photos

--Editing Photos

--Exporting Photos

--Creating a Slideshow

 Thank you to Ted Lai at Instructional Technology Outreach, a division of Technology Services at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, for this tutorial.

GarageBand, part of Mac's iLife suite, is a program that allows you to create your own music for your digital story. This tutorial will show you how to get started using GarageBand to mix your own soundtracks. The tutorial is broken into seven sections:

--Projects

--Loops

--Recording

--Filters and Audio Effects

--Podcast Episodes

--Movie Scores

--Sharing

 Thank you to Ted Lai at Instructional Technology Outreach, a division of Technology Services at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, for this tutorial.