Session 7: The Soil Around Us

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Session 7: Multimedia Presentation

Recommended time
Minimum 60 minutes, maximum 90 minutes

Goals for the session

    • Learn how to storyboard
    • Learn the tasks and roles involved in creating a multimedia presentation

Materials and equipment

    • Book to read aloud.
    • All the documents and images created with the soil experiment data and any other data/documents completed during the previous sessions (writing, drawings, photos, charts or graphs)
    • Software to make a multimedia presentation: KidPix, Hyperstudio or PowerPoint
    • Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Photodeluxe or similar application
    • Microsoft Word or similar application
    • Newsprint sheets, flip-chart paper or a roll of butcher paper
    • Loose-leaf paper
    • Pencils
    • Pens
    • Colored markers

Part 1: Community Builders

Part 2: Read-Aloud

Part 3: Production Steps

What is it?
Give an overview of the steps involved in making the multimedia presentation. Have participants volunteer for roles or assign roles.

How to
Before starting, select software for the group to use to make the presentation. Your choice should be determined by what is available, what you feel comfortable using and what you think the group is ready to use. If the group has more 9-year-olds than 11-year-olds, the Slide Show application in KidPix might be a good choice: It is easy to use and the participants will probably be familiar with it. (Children older than 11 usually consider KidPix to be too childish.)

Although not as simple as KidPix, HyperStudio is easy to learn, has more tools and functions than KidPix and provides a good foundation for learning to use PowerPoint. If HyperStudio is available, it is probably the best choice for this age group in terms of sophistication and ease of use.

PowerPoint is a Microsoft Office application that usually comes with computers that have Microsoft Word and Excel. One of the major differences between PowerPoint and HyperStudio is that HyperStudio includes drawing tools that can be used to create original drawings and graphics right in the program. Otherwise, PowerPoint and HyperStudio are similar in terms of tools and functions. HyperStudio is much more user friendly and is therefore used by many elementary and middle school teachers. Using PowerPoint, however, has the advantage of giving the participants experience with professional software used in the business world.

Also prior to starting, decide whether you want the participants to make one presentation as a group or multiple presentations in groups of two to four. Participants who work well independently and who have created much data and many documents over the course of the project will probably benefit from working in smaller teams on separate presentations. Participants who work better with direct supervision will benefit from working on presentations as part of a group and with close adult supervision.

List the steps for working on the presentation. If the participants are working on separate presentations, have team members decide among themselves who will work on each step.

Sample steps
1. Create a title card/slide for the presentation.

    • List the names of all the people working on the presentation
    • List the date

2. Design a minimum number of cards for the presentation.

    • Put images on each card
    • Put a written description on each card
    • Include charts, graphs and tables, if you have them
    • Include site drawings, graphics and photos with the name of the person who made them

3. Create a bibliography card/slide.

    • List Web sites used to gather information
    • List books used to gather information

4. Edit your parts of the presentation using the checklist (see Part 5).

Part 4: Storyboarding

What is it?
Storyboarding is a technique used to plan creative projects, such as movies and animation, that involve both narrative and visual elements. Multimedia presentations can be storyboarded. In this exercise, participants will storyboard their presentations either in teams (if they are making separate presentations) or as a group (if they are making a single presentation).

How to
Lay out sheets of newsprint, flip-chart paper or butcher paper, with one page to represent each slide (if using KidPix or Powerstudio) or card (if using HyperStudio). Brainstorm the content for each page. Put very rough sketches on the pages, enough to give an idea of the final image. Put a few words on each page (such as "woman opening door"), enough to outline the writing. Have two or three participants work together to finalize the order and layout of the pages.

Part 5: Presentation Quality Checklist

What is it?
Create a list of quality attributes for the presentation. Use the list to improve the style, accuracy and organization of the presentation.

Suggested resource
Check the South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium site for project-based learning checklists for grades 2-4 and
for grade 5-8. These lists can be customized. You can also check the site for checklists about writing, science and oral presentation projects.