This blog is designed as a resource for CURR 501, Media Literacy, Popular Culture and Education at Rhode Island College, summer 2014. The course is driven by the essential question: How is new media and digital culture produced and consumed in ways that help us understand ourselves and each other in the context of the current educational landscape?

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Sparkol - VideoScribe


What is it?
Like Prezi, but with a whiteboard lesson style instead of a PPT style

How do you make one?
1. Need an account - sign up with FB, Google
2. 7 day free trial
3. Download "VideoScribe" app to your computer (PC & MAC friendly)
4. Support - Once signed up, there are many tutorial videos & printable worksheets about how to use it
Here is the first Tutorial video that gives a general overview of what Sparkol/VideoScribe does.

First Project
1. Find the "+" button to start a new project
2. add image, adjust layout of image, transitions & timing, etc
3. add text
4. adjust the "story board" to control what appears first, second, etc
5. add sound - your voice or a background soundtrack

Saving & Sharing Projects
Save project to the ".scribe" Folder on your computer/online (can only share with others who have VideoScribe on their computer)
Share it with friends (make a "video file") - it is easy to export to YouTube, FB, PPT

My Tester Project
My tester was maybe 30 seconds long and took about 6 minutes to turn into a "video file" for YouTube
Here's the final product, my friends! Enjoy

7 comments:

  1. This tutorial was posted by Laura

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  2. Hey Laura,

    It seems like a cool way to make a presentation ... keeps the viewers engaged. However, the long tutorial makes it seem complicated to use which means lots of time spent making the equivalent of a flashy PPT. Did you feel the same way about that?

    Thanks for sharing

    Gabe

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  3. Laura,

    I think this is a really engaging tool to use in place of PowerPoint. Do you think this could be used to present materials in order to flip a classroom?

    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Laura,
    The video that you showed to demonstrate this tool during class time caught my attention. You had stated that it was pretty easy to make videos and that there were already images to choose from. I can definitely see myself using this in place of a Powerpoint presentation.

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  5. I like this! I watched the tutorial and it is pretty easy to use. I am thinking that this would be a great tool to use for ELL students.
    Thanks for sharing
    Mary

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  6. Hi Everyone,
    Gabe - it is easy, but since there are many layers of "effects" happening, it could seem a little complex. I'd start small and go from there. The tutorials were long because they were thorough - you can (and I did) play them on one side of the screen and test them out simultaneously on the other.

    Tanna - yes, this could be used to flip a classroom. And what would be nice about using it would be 1. it's funky looking (= cool) 2. you share it with students as a video, so unlike PPT (where students can see the inner workings of your slideshow) your students would be learning from a video. I assume you were going to use PPT as your mode of flipping your classroom

    Christina - yes, you could absolutely replace PPT with this. I would compare it to working with Prezi (which I've never really mastered even though I've tried many times - I think it's because I'm too "linear") I found this to be easier than Prezi.

    Mary - yes, this could be used many ways for ELL students.

    Good luck!

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  7. I absolutely love this and will be using it as an option for my Spanish III projects I'm working on now as part of my own final project for this class! Really like the audio factor, and you made a great first video too.
    -Amy

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