OnLine+Slide+Shows

=Creating Slide Shows using Internet Tools= by Lynne M. Bailey

Wikipedia has an entry about slideshows *[|here]. People have used illustrations in one form or other to present information since the days of the caveman. During my early lifetime, slides were made from film, and also called transparencies. The quality of slides was much higher than that of regular photographs, and because they were transparent, they were shown using a light projector. Even today the projected image quality of a 35mm slide rivals that of a standard multimedia projector. __Often, these slide projectors were designed to take carousels in which dozens of slides were queued and often had an automatic slide advance that could be activated remotely by the presenter.__ [Jason Feliciano] These days, slideshows are created electronically from digital picture files and typically viewed on a computer, an output device connected to one, or other processing devices with an LCD screen and digital storage or port, such as electronic photo frames.

Slideshows also refer to presentations, such as those made with PowerPoint software. This application is often used in conjunction with an oral presentation to add a visual focal point. Text, graphics, images, animation and movies can be added to such presentations. They are used in many fields to present a myriad of information, in a hopefully more engaging way. Presentations are also designed to be viewed without a presenter. When creating a presentation, it is important to remember who your audience is, and how it will be seen.

Slideshows do play a role in Language Arts and other subject areas. Our society has embraced many forms of visual information and visual literacy has become increasingly important. It has often been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. We can use images to enrich both teaching and learning experiences. Slideshows can be used to accompany oral and written presentations. They can illustrate our thoughts and ideas, portray stories, demonstrate processes, create interest, persuade, inform, motivate, educate and bring tears to our eyes. Choosing appropriate images and organizing them are important skills, as is the ability to read and analyze them. It is also important for students to learn how to distill important ideas into bullet points and about different ways to share their creations in this ever-connected information age.

The two most robust and widely used online tools for creating Internet slide shows are slide.com and slideroll.com.
 * [|www.flickr.com] If you upload photos at flicker, you can view them as a slide show, but there are no additional features offered.
 * [|www.slide.com] For examples of slideshows created with slide.com, see [|www.funmasters.biz], [|follow this link] and at pages at [|www.PresentsByDesign.com] . Slide.com is a fairly robust online tool. Registration is free and simple. You can upload photos, create multiple slideshows, add skins (graphic overlays) to them, and embed them in other webpages. For a tutorial on using Slide.com and sharing your slide show [|click here]. This PowerPoint presentation: [|Part 1] shows you how to enhance your web pages by knowing the ABC's of HTML. Slide.com allows users to import pictures from many popular online sites including Flickr, Friendster, Bibo, Facebook, MySpace, and Photobucket, in addition to uploading photos from a computer, and using the URL for photos on the Internet. It also has a search feature to find pictures on the web. Users can add lengthy captions, but effects are limited to the graphic overlays. There is also a selection of music that can be added to your show (one tune per show). Slide shows can be resized to virtually any configuration and by copying the provided code can easily be embedded in other web pages. Slide.com will also automatically place creations into popular social networking sites with a few clicks of the mouse. Slide is becoming more of a social network itself, with the ability to have fans and friends and upload images to a gallery. There is no mention of space limitations, and you can upload rather large photographs which will automatically be sized to fit into a slideshow. A privacy option is available to limit who can view your slideshows. One drawback with this service is that you cannot download your slide creations - they are only available for viewing on the Internet.
 * [|www.slideroll.com] also requires users to create an account and login. For an example of a show go to http://sophia.smith.edu/nosotras/index.htm . This online application connects to acounts at flickr.com and myspace, as well as allowing the user to upload their own photographs. An application is available for download to create movie files (can be uploaded to youtube.com). Slideroll is a very robust tool. Using slideroll.com, users can add music and movie effects, such as fade, zoom in and out, and pan, to their slideshows along a timeline. They can also add titles, descriptions and source information.
 * [|www.bighugelabs] has a flicker toy that requires using flicker photos or photo urls. No login is required to create show. An example made with flicker photoset and no log in at [|http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/slideshow.php?id=30791.]. This flicker toy doesn't do much more than viewing your flicker photos as a slideshow. You cannot save the shows, so if you lose the URL, you won't be able to view it again, and it does not specify how long the URL will be available. You can use the advanced tool to search photos from flickr.com and you can add photos from anywhere on the Internet, but you cannot upload your own photographs - it is solely for use with flickr.com and Internet images.

Other online services that can create slideshows include the following:
 * http://www.onetruemedia.com/
 * http://www.phanfare.com/
 * http://www.myspaceslideshow.net/
 * http://www.slidez.net/ in beta
 * [|http://www.photobucket.com]
 * http://www.jumpcut.com/ looks promising
 * http://www.kodakgallery.com/
 * http://www.toufee.com/ (creates flash movies from multiple media types)
 * http://www.23hq.com/ [|blog review]

http://picasa.google.com/ requires download http://flash.dvd-photo-slideshow.com/ requires download [|www.smilebox.com] requires download commercial: http://www.sellfolio.com/ $3.95 month unlimited photostorage http://www.photagious.com/ [|free trial personal interest] please do not delete

The above resources are for creating photographic slideshows. You can add captions, titles, different effects and, in some cases, additional descriptions and music. To create a presentation online that includes additional text and graphs without using PowerPoint, there are a couple of free online services you can try. //I will check these out and add some details next week.//
 * [|http://www.zoho.com] (online office suite)
 * [|http://www.spresent.com/v2/index.php]
 * [|http://www.thumbstacks.com/]
 * [|http://www.]empressr.com/ [|blogger's review]

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/ (download) Resource [|article]

Lynne M. Bailey teaching portfolio at: [|www.lynnembailey.com] studio portfolio at: [|www.PresentsByDesign.com] [|www.FunMasters.biz] - Body Art Business

I have prefaced this page with links to a number of sites that either facilitate the development of slide shows, or actually contain examples of how one could use such [|web 2.0] applications as [|www.slide.com]. It is my intention that one would first familiarize oneself with these applications before one engages further in this discourse. (Beverley Gregory, 06.20.07)
 * Comments from Beverly:**

Slide shows have been around for centuries now, and have always been used by academicians and presenters to organize and display data or images. The name slide show actually developed out of the use of [|slides] to present information. In earlier years one needed an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector to load and display slides. One of the earliest forms of this apparatus is the [|Magic Lantern], which probably served as a precursor to modern day cinematography. This ancient method of presenting slide shows often required the presenter to be physically next to the presentation so as to manually operate the projector. However, with the advent of computers, slide shows have become much more sophisticated. Each year new applications burst on the market, which not only make presentations more dynamic, but also much easier to use. (Beverley Gregory, 06.20.07)

With the ease of use, many creative educators have found innovative ways to employ slide shows in the classroom. The teacher of almost any discipline may use them to motivate and engage the learner. Slide shows may be use in the ELA classroom to promote visual literacy, and assist in both teacher directed or student directed presentations. (Beverley Gregory, 06.20.07)

I find Slide Show is very useful tool for art shows, science and math projects. We also can use it to organize students' electrinic portfolios. Here is a [|Art slide] show from students' work.( [|Mingyu] Li, July 2, 2007)

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COMMENTS FROM STEVEN SCHNEE: Upon entering a classroom we are met with the challenge of delivering instruction to diverse learners. Individuals, who seek attention from us in a manner that at some times may be difficult to grasp. Howard Gardener spoke of a student as a collection of many wonders and talents. It was his claim that the children of our future are blessed with a compilation of multiple intelligences or skills that should be taken advantage of when determining the proper instructional delivery for a student. Many students who suffer with attention disorders seek help finding ways to make the information addressed in class meaningful to them. In many cases, the problem roots from their difficulty interpretting the situations being addressed. Many ADD students suffer because of a teacher's tendency to conform to the "talk and chalk" methodology of instruction. A student of this calaber resorts to mischief and mayhem to hide thier confusion, but if you present the information in a dramatized, creative display the student remarkably shines. Myself, serving as a science teacher, have seen this pattern time and time again when presenting scientific concepts as a demonstration or lab. You will usually notice these individuals go out of their way to show their understanding of the material. They can usually be seen shouting out the answers to questions or serving as an assistant or leader in the laboratory. This behavior is demonstrating because after all their faults they finally find success and desire showing it off. An individual of this sort presents strong signs of a visual, spatial intelligence. It is best after identifying this achievement to meet it heads on and approaching instruction to these individuals using visual aid. Lynne said it nicely, "pictures speak a thousand words" and can reach a thousand minds if used appropriately. Applications using slide shows can definitely seal the deal. (Steven Schnee, July 15, 2007)

I am in the process of creating PowerPoint presentations for my classes. I have decided to do away with the out of date transparencies. I found a great program called Inspiration8, their website ([|www.inspiration.com]) offers a free 30 day trial, and I have just recently downloaded it along with the user guide which offers a step by step tutorial on how to utilize this program. After following their instructions it was easy for me to see the benefits of using this program. One of the best features is, it will export all of my data into word document format without losing any data, this is ideal for PowerPoint. Barry Spainer

The basic idea of using slideshows to help make material more interesting is obviously beneficial. Creating slideshows is easy with applications and online tools, but I think what we really need to see is the synergy of the two an "powerpoint" like internet application. The rumor mills on blog sites like [|Technorati] have been discussing the coming of such an application for some time. Joe Beauvais