Photo Story 3... Easy Enough I Will Actually Do It

I have said many times that in our fast-moving world, we will do that which is easy. So much of our challenge, therefore, is to find ways to make quality things easy. Photo Story is a free program which allows ordinary people like you and me to make quality presentations which bring still pictures to life with movement, music, and narration.

One of my colleagues and friends, Pattie Thomas, presented a session at AETC on Photo Story 3. She has shared her PowerPoint slides at this site.

When our school system went through its District Accreditation, the opening presentation for the visiting committee consisted of a Photo Story. You may view that presentation by clicking here. You can also view another of these presentations, The Faces of Talladega City Schools, by clicking here. If asked for a password, simple click "cancel." Mrs. Thomas created the later presentation. She and I worked together on the presentation for District Accreditation.

My first attempt at Photo Story resulted in a surprise Christmas present for wife that captured wonderful moments from our lives through photographs, music, and narration. It will remain a cherished keepsake and serve as proof that gifts do not have to be costly to be priceless.

I would have liked to have attended Mrs. Thomas's session simply out of support for her if nothing else. I was unable to do so because I was presenting a session of my own at the same time. As it turned out, I probably couldn't have squeezed into the room. While she was hoping for maybe 50 people, 200 people filled every seat and lined the walls!

If you have not experienced Photo Story, I highly recommend adding learning this program to your list of "things to do." To start:

1. View the end result--either of the two Photo Story presentations to which you can link from this post.
2. View Mrs. Thomas's PowerPoint presentation.
3. View any of the Photo Story tutorials available on the Internet. One excellent tutorial can be found here.

When I found Photo Story, I found something easy enough I will actually use it!

Photo Story

Nothing spreads a good idea like word of mouth. Two years ago, when Janet Taylor conducted a summer workshop on Photo Story for teachers in our school system, probably none of us had heard of it. After teachers were able to see the projects their colleagues who attended had created, last summer's workshop was nearly full.

This Christmas, several of us at the central office surprised close family members with projects we had created using Photo Story. I have no doubt that the interest in the program is going to exceed the capacity of the people available aroudn here to teach it. I have been able to find a pretty good tutorial on the internet, and that link is here.

A novice could use this tutorial and teach himself/herself the program, although half the fun is having someone guide you through the process and help you share in the joy of creating something meaningful and lasting. Whether the project is for your students or a project you create at home for loved ones, this free program is a winner.

Warning—Using this program may cause excessive use of Kleenex.